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THE   PASSPORT 


.  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY.  LOS  ANGF.».R> 


THE  PASSPORT 


BY 

A 


EMILE  VOUTE 


NEW  YORK 
MITCHELL  KENNERLEY 

1915 


COPYRIGHT   1915  BY  MITCHELL  KENNERLEY 


PRINTED  IN  AMERICA 


To  two  angels  on  earth,  'who  have 
been  permitted  to  join  with  me  in  the 
satisfaction  over  a  task  successfully 
accomplished;  and  to  one  in  Heaven, 
who  would  have  given  so  completely 
of  a  mother  s  pride,  this  work  is 
lovingly  dedicated. 


2133328 


*  *  *  Whosoever,  owing  allegiance  to  tliz  United 
States,  levies  war  against  them,  or  adheres  to  their 
enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort,  is  guilty  of 
treason  *  *  * 


THE  PASSPORT 


CHAPTER  I 

RICHARD  WARDEN,  third,  sat  at  the  window  of  his 
lofty  and  comfortable  apartment  looking  across  the 
river  at  the  little  lights. 

There  were  myriads  of  them,  flickering  in  the  rem- 
nant of  a  gale  that  was  blowing,  with  a  few  stray 
raindrops,  late  comers  in  an  afternoon  shower,  ticking 
monotonously  against  the  windows. 

He  was  Richard  Warden,  third,  because  his  father, 
also  Richard,  was  still  living — as  was  his  grandfather. 
He  would  have  been  Richard  Warden,  tenth  or  elev- 
enth, but  for  the  fact  that  the  grandfather  was  the 
last  living  of  the  earlier  Richard  Wardens. 

His  college  mates  had  used  the  distinguishing  addi- 
tum  as  a  sobriquet  and  he  secretly  enjoyed  the  his- 
torical pleasantry,  while  not  at  all  in  sympathy  with 
the  character  of  the  cruel  and  vindictive  Duke  of 
Gloucester. 

Gentle  in  thought  and  manner,  he  was  strong  in 
mental  and  physical  development  and,  although 
scarcely  turned  into  his  twenties,  he  had  studied  earn- 
estly the  history  of  the  world  and  had  formed  opinions 
and  come  to  conclusions  far  in  advance  of  his  five  and 
twenty  years. 


2  THE    PASSPORT 

He  had  the  soul  of  the  dreamer  combined  with  the 
capabilities  of  the  leader  and  was,  in  every  way,  that 
composite  alloy  of  the  melting  pot  that  goes  to  make 
the  perfect  human  metal. 

For  several  hours  he  had  been  watching  the  lights 
across  the  river.  The  landscape,  hidden  in  the  shad- 
ows of  the  early  evening,  assumed  the  outlines  of  a 
huge  battle-ground  with  the  tiny  lights  taking  form 
as  signals  with  growing  regularity  and  intensity.  An 
electric  advertising  sign  flared  up  like  the  torch  of  a 
war  king. 

In  his  mind  he  saw  the  struggling  hordes,  the  mov- 
ing of  huge  bodies  of  men  in  the  shadows,  the  flare  of 
the  cannon,  with  the  shrieks  of  the  victory-maddened 
and  the  dying  mingled  in  one  awful,  devilish  ensemble. 
It  all  seemed  so  real,  so  much  like  that  which  was  hap- 
pening elsewhere  on  this  earth. 

As  he  sat  there  and  mused,  the  strains  of  martial 
music  reached  him  from  the  broad  thoroughfare  below. 
He  left  his  apartment  and  took  the  elevator  to  the 
street  floor. 

Down  the  avenue  came  a  brilliant  procession,  a  pa- 
geant typical  of  cosmopolitan  New  York.  There 
were  horsemen  and  paraders  on  foot,  carriages  and 
gayly  decorated  floats.  The  chief  executive  of  the  city 
rode  proudly  in  the  leading  carriage,  to  the  music  of 
an  enlivening  march. 

Among  the  civic  bodies  in  the  parade  he  noticed 
some  five  hundred  men,  shoulders  thrown  back  and 
marching  with  a  military  precision  quite  unlike  the 
haphazard  strides  of  the  other  groups  on  foot.  A 
banner,  carried  by  the  leader,  informed  him  that  this 
five  hundred  constituted  a  German  sharpshooter's  club. 
There  were  a  number  of  such  clubs  in  New  York. 


THE    PASSPORT  3 

Both  sides  of  the  thoroughfare  were  packed  with  peo- 
ple, acclaiming  the  officials,  the  pageantry  and  the 
martial  music.  It  was  all  very  enthusing  and  he  stood 
there,  dreaming,  imagining  how  he  himself  would  feel 
returning  as  a  hero,  acclaimed  by  his  fellow  men,  em- 
braced by  the  women  in  the  ecstacy  of  hysterical  en- 
thusiasm and  lauded  for  having  conquered  others  of 
his  fellow  men,  conquered  them  by  killing,  slaughtering, 
exterminating  them. 

Then,  his  mind  diverted  into  less  sanguinary  chan- 
nels, he  thought  how  much  nobler  it  would  be  to  return 
a  victorious  peacemaker!  Fellow  men  and  women 
would  acclaim  just  as  heartily — just  as  hysterically. 

Yet  it  had  never  been  done. 

The  returning  hero  must  always  be  a  killer — whether 
of  beast  or  man,  it  did  not  matter.  But  his  prowess 
must  needs  be  measured  by  his  power  to  exterminate, 
his  passion  and  his  ability  to  take  life,  never  to  pre- 
serve it. 

Still  occupied  with  this  waking  dream,  he  re-entered 
the  big,  grey-stone  apartment  house,  a  building  em- 
blematic of  peace  and  industry.  Again  in  his  eyry, 
he  once  more  looked  out  over  the  dark  river  at  the 
twinkling,  flickering  lights.  He  surveyed  the  scene  as 
a  giant  would  survey  it — as  a  man  surveys  a  village 
of  bustling,  tireless  ants. 

The  Great  War  had  much  affected  Richard  Warden, 
third.  He  had  no  bias  and  was  prejudiced  only  in  the 
overflowing  sympathy  he  felt  for  those  whose  homes 
were  being  invaded  and  ravaged.  He  made  a  mental 
comparison  between  the  wide  stretch  of  land  and  water 
under  his  eyes  and  the  great  expanse  of  territory 
ruined  and  robbed  by  the  omnipresent  Teutons  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic, 


4  THE    PASSPORT 

How  easy  it  would  be  for  a  giant,  standing  as  high 
as  he  now  stood  above  the  earth,  to  scatter  the  ruthless 
invaders ! 

Once  he  had  turned  away  an  army  of  hostile  ants 
who,  seemingly,  were  bent  upon  violating  the  peaceful 
industries  of  a  little  village  in  his  garden.  The  invaders 
were  big,  red  ants  and  the  smaller,  black  insects  in  the 
village  were,  apparently,  taken  by  surprise  and  val- 
iantly defended  their  domain.  He  had  scattered  the 
invaders  with  a  twig  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
the  village  again  pursuing  its  normal  activities. 

Oh,  for  some  Brobdingnaigan  to  do  for  the  Belgians 
and  the  French  what  he  had  done  for  his  little  friends 
in  the  garden! 

As  he  thought  of  it  now,  those  big,  red  ants,  with 
their  fat,  well-rounded  bodies,  brought  vividly  to  his 
mind  the  Kaiser's  stout,  well-fed  warriors,  with  their 
shining  helmets,  as  he  had  seen  them  on  the  parade 
grounds  at  Potsdam  and  at  Metz  during  a  summer's 
sojourn  abroad. 

A  giant,  with  his  head  as  high  above  the  surrounding 
country  as  his  own  was  now,  with  a  giant's  twig  that 
would,  undoubtedly,  seem  as  monstrous  a  weapon  to 
the  German  invaders  as  his  own  little  twig  must  have 
seemed  to  the  big,  red  ants,  would  be  able  to  clear  the 
invaded  territory  in  a  moment,  poke  over  huge  cannon, 
howitzers  and  great  fortifications,  just  as  he  had  poked 
over  the  earth  on  the  outskirts  of  the  ant  village,  and 
transform  stricken  Belgium  and  Northern  France  into 
a  peaceful,  if  devastated  land. 

The  subject  of  proportion  fascinated  him.  It  all 
seemed  to  end  with  Man. 

In  the  wars  of  the  insects,  of  the  birds,  of  the 
smaller  animals,  there  was  always  some  larger  insect, 


THE    PASSPORT  5 

bird  or  animal  that  could  stop  the  work  of  extermina- 
tion between  the  smaller  belligerents  and  scatter  them. 
The  final  physical  tribunal  was — Man.  But  Man,  in 
his  own  wars,  found  himself  helpless  except  through 
the  superiority  of  numbers  and  of  cruel  weapons  and 
then  only  by  a  terrific  sacrifice  of  blood.  The  natural 
law  of  proportion  stopped  with  Man. 

There  was  no  giant  to  do  for  Man  what  he,  Richard 
Warden,  third,  had  done  for  the  ants.  The  result  had 
always  been  appalling  and  it  never  was  more  so  than 
in  this  Twentieth  Century  struggle  that  had  placed  an 
innocent  community  at  the  mercy  of  an  unscrupulous, 
barbarous  invader  and  laid  waste  a  fair  and  peaceful 
land. 

Faint  echoes  of  the  martial  airs  in  the  street  below 
brought  him  back  to  his  thoughts  of  the  returning 
conqueror;  the  victorious  return  of  the  hero  who,  by 
reason  of  having  put  to  death  sufficient  numbers  of 
his  fellow  men,  had  succeeded  in  liberating  his  own 
land  or  else  make  it  the  master  of  another! 

It  was  always  killing,  killing! 

It  had  been  thus  since  the  beginning  of  Time  and 
the  hope  that  the  ancient  practices  were  gradually  but 
surely  undergoing  a  change  had  been  ruthlessly  shat- 
tered at  the  very  zenith  of  an  enlightened  age! 

The  lights  still  flickered  across  the  river. 

On  the  water  other  skimmering  little  flashes  took  on 
the  shapes  of  bursting  shells. 

Closing  his  eyes,  he  could  see  the  thousands  of  uni- 
formed, helmeted  human  ants  on  the  embankment  op- 
posite, laying  waste  the  land  below  upon  which  he  was 
gazing  as  a  giant  would. 

He  felt  the  tremors  of  the  earth  as  the  shells  found 
their  mark,  saw  the  crumbling  marble  piles  along  the 


6  THE    PASSPORT 

beautiful  river  drive,  saw  the  city  all  about  him  in 
flames,  terror  upon  all  faces,  men  and  women  and 
children  being  buried  at  every  step  under  mountains 
of  falling  stone  and  twisted  steel. 

Were  he  as  tall  as  the  building  at  the  window  of 
which  he  stood,  six  strides  would  bring  him  to  the 
other  embankment  and  one  sweep  of  both  arms  would 
scatter  that  hostile  army,  with  the  bullets  from  their 
puny  weapons  rattling  against  him  as  impotently  as 
hail  stones  during  an  autumn  storm. 

The  desire  to  help  Belgium's  stricken  people  became 
an  obsession  with  him. 

He  sat  at  the  window,  in  deep  reflection,  until  late. 
Then  he  tried  to  interest  himself  in  a  book  but,  instead, 
picked  up  the  day's  late  editions  and  was  soon  poring 
over  the  more  or  less  detailed  accounts  of  what  was 
happening  on  the  battlefields. 

The  dispatches  were  not,  from  the  viewpoint  of  one 
desiring  to  see  the  German  war  lord  rebuked  for  his 
insolence,  reassuring.  The  Mailed  Fist  was  being 
driven  further  and  further  through  the  allied  lines  and 
the  alternating  forward  and  retrograde  movements  of 
the  opposing  forces  in  Belgium  were  gradually  redu- 
cing that  country  to  a  bleak,  charred  plain.  In  North- 
ern France,  too,  the  ground  once  covered  by  beautiful 
vineyards  was  being  prepared,  by  Wilhelm  The  Insa- 
tiable, for  the  withering  heat  of  the  blast  furnaces 
where  Krupps  could  be  made  for  conquests  still  to 
come. 

All  this  he  saw  prophesied  in  the  daily  prints  and 
the  idea  of  scattering  the  fat,  red  ants  of  Germania 
became  more  and  more  thoroughly  inculcated  in  his 
mind. 

To  upset  the  plans  of  those  who  considered  them- 


THE    PASSPORT  7 

selves  invincible  did  not  present  itself  to  the  young 
man  as  a  grotesque  proposition.  There  had  been  men 
before  him  who  had  made  the  world  do  their  bidding 
and  the  only  difference  between  them  and  himself  lay 
in  the  fact  that  his  predecessors  had  been  master  by 
the  torch  and  sword  while  he  desired  to  be  master 
without  recourse  to  arms  or  bloodshed.  He  felt  that, 
in  his  sub-conscious  self,  there  was  hidden  a  way,  if 
only  he  could  bring  it  to  the  surface. 

Deeply  interested  in  physic  phenomena,  to  which  he 
had  devoted  much  time,  Warden  knew  that,  through 
his  subjective  mind,  there  would  present  itself  a  solution 
of  the  apparently  gigantic  problem  before  him.  He 
set  himself  to  the  task  of  concentrating  his  thoughts 
upon  the  subject  and  it  became  so  absolute  a  part  of 
his  waking  as  well  as  his  sleeping  hours  that  he  soon 
appeared  peculiar  and  incomprehensible  to  those  with 
whom  he  was  thrown  in  contact. 

"A  fortune  awaits  the  man  who  can  find  the  way  to 
send  the  interned  Germans  in  America  back  to  Ger- 
many," said  a  friend  to  him  one  day. 

"A  greater  fortune  and  much  greater  fame  awaits 
the  man  who  finds  the  way  to  make  it  unnecessary  for 
them  to  go  back  to  Germany,"  he  replied.  And  usually 
he  would  turn  the  conversation  and  resume  his  far- 
away look  and  silent  meditation. 

While  he  had  taken  a  course  in  applied  chemistry, 
he  had  half  regretted  his  self-outlined  career  after 
quitting  college,  much  to  the  disappointment  of  his 
father,  who  had  planned  for  the  son  a  brilliant  future 
in  the  profession  that  had  dealt  so  generously  with 
himself.  It  was  with  keen  pleasure,  therefore,  that 
the  elder  Warden  received  word  from  the  young  colle- 
gian saying  that  the  latter  had  decided  to  actively 


8  THE    PASSPORT 

take  up  his  chosen  profession  and  would  devote  himself 
to  experiments  for  a  time,  in  the  laboratory  of  his 
father  in  the  Warden  home,  beautifully  situated  in  one 
of  the  garden  spots  of  New  England. 

The  time  intervening  between  the  sending  of  the 
letter  to  his  father  and  the  giving  up  of  his  comfort- 
able bachelor  quarters  in  New  York,  he  spent  largely 
in  the  great  libraries.  Day  after  day,  engrossed  in 
scientific  books,  he  would  sit  there  making  copious  notes 
and  memoranda,  grudgingly  snatching  a  few  moments 
for  his  meals  and  totally  ignoring  his  social  obliga- 
tions, notably  so  in  the  case  of  the  charming  Miss 
Mary  Berwin,  which  particular  social  obligation  had, 
in  fact,  been  relegated  to  positive  oblivion  from  the 
moment  that  he  had  begun,  as  his  friends  pleasantly 
described  it,  to  have  "the  bug  in  his  brain."  He  would 
spend  the  evenings  looking  over  the  river  at  the  nick- 
ering lights — when  he  was  not  going  over  his  notes  and 
data — and  the  last  thing  he  did  before  retiring  was  to 
set  his  mind  intently  upon  THE  WAY,  so  that  he 
might  fall  asleep  with  brain  predisposed,  and  possibly 
bring  forth,  out  of  his  subconsciousness,  a  realization 
of  his  hopes — a  logical  release  of  his  captive  dream. 

His  determination  to  pursue  the  profession  for  which 
he  had  studied  was,  to  some  extent,  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  young  man  was  well  aware  that  the  continued 
brooding  over  his  pet  ideal  might  lead  to  serious  conse- 
quences, if  he  did  not  otherwise  occupy  his  mind.  In 
this  way  he  proved,  to  his  own  satisfaction  at  least, 
that  he  was  well-balanced  mentally  and  intended  to  re- 
main so.  The  friendly  jibes  of  his  friends — upon  the 
rare  occasions  that  he  met  them — did  not  disturb  him 
in  the  least. 

"If  there  is  a  bug  in  my  brain,"  he  would  say  smil- 


THE    PASSPORT  9 

ingly,  "it  is  the  liveliest  bug  that  ever  was  and  it  is 
keeping  my  brain  active.  It  may  claim  public  atten- 
tion, some  day,  in  a  manner  you  little  dream  of  now !" 
Finally,  the  day  arrived  when  he  gave  up  his  New 
York  lodgings.  The  evening  before  he  had  gazed  for 
the  last  time  upon  the  little  lights  across  the  river,  had 
seen  in  his  mind's  eye  the  human  ants  massing  on  the 
ridge  opposite,  the  bursting  of  the  shells,  the  devasta- 
tion, the  coming  of  the  giant  and  then — Peace! 


CHAPTER   II 

His  arrival  in  the  little  New  England  hamlet,  nestled 
at  the  foot  of  the  picturesque  Berkshires,  was  not  re- 
garded with  any  degree  of  lively  interest  by  the  vil- 
lagers. Prone  to  ascribe  eccentricity  to  anyone  en- 
gaged in  any  form  of  study  or  occupation  above  their 
own  powers  of  understanding,  the  natives  classed  the 
younger  Warden  with  his  pater,  and  commented  upon 
his  home-coming  merely  as  a  case  of  "another  bug  come 
to  town." 

To  the  elderly  Elizabeth,  acting  as  housekeeper  in 
the  home  of  her  brother,  his  coming  was  a  matter  of 
the  utmost  importance,  however.  The  good  soul  pic- 
tured her  nephew  bringing  order  out  of  chaos  on  the 
"farm"  and  she  could  already  see  the  grounds  sur- 
rounding the  old  Warden  homestead  transformed  into 
a  beautiful  estate  under  his  energetic  supervision.  The 
chickens,  that  now  looked  as  if  they  were  suffering 
from  the  mange,  the  poultry  runs  that  had  fallen  into 
decay  and  the  delapidated  fences,  would  now  all  be 
attended  to  and  the  place  made  habitable,  a  state  of 
affairs  that  had  not  been  in  effect  since  Grandfather 
Warden  became  too  old  to  look  after  the  property  and 
young  Richard's  father  had  become  a  sort  of  passive 
head  of  the  household. 

Vases  for  flowers  and  urns  for  autumn  leaves  had 
been  put  in  one  of  the  choice  rooms  of  the  house  which 
had  been  set  aside  for  Richard's  use  by  his  aunt.  A 
pink  bow  here  and  there  on  the  lace  curtains,  the 


THE    PASSPORT  11 

clothes  hamper  and  the  whiskbroom,  carried  out  the 
good  lady's  idea  of  a  perfectly  normal  male  college 
graduate's  needs,  an  idea  that  was  further  emphasized 
by  a  profusion  of  dainty  white  covers  on  table,  dresser, 
book-case  and  rocking  chair  as  well  as  by  an  exquisite 
white  pillow  sham  interlaced  along  the  edges  with  a 
pink  ribbon. 

Aunt  Elizabeth  gazed  with  ill-concealed  satisfaction 
on  the  scene  of  her  activity  as  she  ushered  Richard 
into  the  room  and  then  hied  herself  to  the  lower  floor 
where  she  busied  herself  over  a  formidable  list  of  nec- 
essary changes  and  improvements  in  the  property 
which,  she  felt  sure,  would  prove  to  Richard  a  long-felt 
want. 

She  received  her  first  shock  the  next  morning  at 
breakfast.  An  expressman  had  brought  a  ponderous 
box  to  the  house  before  her  nephew  came  downstairs. 
It  was  addressed  to  the  latter  and  undoubtedly  con- 
tained his  library  and  bachelor-den  paraphernalia. 
When  he  came  down  and  told  his  aunt  that  the  box 
contained  chemicals  and  apparatus  for  chemical  exper- 
iments she  was  sorely  disappointed,  for  her  brother  had 
told  her  nothing  of  Richard's  intentions  to  follow  chem- 
istry as  his  career. 

Her  second  shock  came  when  she  went  upstairs  while 
her  nephew  was  breakfasting.  She  found  that  two  of 
the  vases  contained  a  dark,  brackish  fluid,  while  the 
flowers  were  in  the  waste-paper  basket.  The  autumn 
leaves  were  lying  on  the  window  sill  and  their  places 
in  the  urns  had  been  given  over  to  various  small  bags 
and  boxes  with  uncipherable  marks.  A  cane,  with  the 
crook  stuck  into  the  loop,  adorned  the  curtain  bow  and 
some  colored  powder  had  successfully  put  the  stamp 


12  THE    PASSPORT 

of  ruin   on   the   white   coverlet   on   the   center   table. 

After  breakfast,  Aunt  Elizabeth  rather  hesitatingly 
suggested  a  walk  through  the  grounds  with  her  young 
relative.  He  assented  readily  enough,  somewhat  to 
her  surprise.  He  did  not,  however,  appear  to  show 
the  requisite  amount  of  enthusiasm  over  the  proposed 
improvements.  He  agreed  with  his  aunt  that  the  fences 
looked  bad  and  that  the  chickens  resembled  animated 
feather  dusters  that  had  seen  better  days,  but  he  did 
not  commit  himself  on  the  proposition  that  he  should 
be  the  one  to  remedy  these  faults. 

He  inspected  the  small  building  used  as  a  chicken 
shelter  with  greater  attention  than  any  of  the  other 
places  to  which  his  aunt  led  him.  This  caused  the 
worthy  woman  to  believe  she  had  finally  succeeded  in 
interesting  her  nephew,  although  she  could  not  account 
for  his  devoting  himself  specially  to  the  chicken  house 
since  it  was  in  far  better  condition  than  any  of  the 
other  structures  on  the  property. 

Her  perplexity  was  dissipated  that  same  afternoon 
when  she  found  her  dishevelled  chickens  enjoying  an 
unwonted  outing  in  the  vegetable  garden  nearby  and 
Nephew  Richard  busy  putting  up  shelves  in  the  little 
building  which  the  man-of-all-work,  under  his  direc- 
tion, had  broomed  clean  and  painted  an  immaculate 
white  within.  At  the  moment  that  his  aunt  entered 
the  place,  the  helper  was  running  an  electric  light  wire 
into  the  hennery,  making  Aunt  Elizabeth's  query,  as  to 
whether  it  was  being  improved  for  the  chickens,  quite 
unnecessary. 

Within  a  week  from  the  time  that  he  had  installed 
himself  in  the  chicken  house,  the  village  began  to  talk 
of  the  queer  things  that  were  happening  on  the  Warden 
"farm."  Often,  when  the  entire  community  was 


THE    PASSPORT  13 

wrapped  in  slumber,  some  of  the  village  rounders, 
coming  home  late  from  a  neighboring  dance,  had  seen 
mysterious  lights  in  the  Warden  hennery  and  on  sev- 
eral occasions  flashes  of  blue  flame  had  sent  small  par- 
ties of  the  more  timid  women  dancers  scurrying  home 
along  the  dark  road  with  a  due  amount  of  creepy 
shivers  under  their  wraps. 

One  morning,  while  the  aunt  was  disconsolately  view- 
ing the  fast  gathering  ruin  over  the  farm,  the  good 
woman  was  frightened  speechless  by  a  terrific  explo- 
sion and,  as  she  turned,  there  came  a  crash  of  glass 
when  the  window  in  the  chicken  house  burst  outward 
accompanied  by  a  great  cloud  of  smoke.  About  the 
same  time  Richard  came  out  of  the  building,  his  face 
and  hands  blackened,  but  seemingly  unmindful  of  the 
disturbance  he  had  caused  as  he  made  his  way  to  the 
Warden  dwelling. 

"It's  alright,  Aunt  Bessie !"  he  said  as  he  passed 
the  frightened  woman,  "I  think  I  have  found  what  I 
have  been  looking  for." 

"Lands  sake,  it  made  noise  enough!"  commented  his 
aunt.  She  was  too  much  overcome  to  say  more  but 
helplessly  watched  her  begrimed  nephew  enter  the 
house  and  go  up  to  his  room. 

It  was  a  few  days  after  this  incident  that  Walter 
Nast,  a  neighbor,  came  in  to  tell  Richard's  father 
about  the  peculiar  accident  that  had  befallen  his  herd 
of  prize  Jerseys. 

"When  I  came  to  the  pasture  this  morning,"  said 
Nast,  "everyone  of  my  ninety  cows  was  lying  as  dead 
on  the  field.  Those  that  I  examined  were  warm  and 
they  did  not  appear  to  be  dead  but  they  weren't  sleep- 
ing nat'ral,  either,  for  some  were  all  in  a  heap  as  if 
they  had  been  overcome  by  sickness.  I  hurried  to  get 


14  THE    PASSPORT 

Doctor  Bell,  the  veterinary,  but  he  was  out  and  by  the 
time  I  came  back  to  the  village,  about  four  hours  later, 
all  the  cows  seemed  to  be  slowly  getting  alright  again." 

Aunt  Elizabeth  listened  to  this  recital  of  local  news 
with  open-mouthed  amazement.  Richard,  who  was 
present  during  the  telling  of  Nast's  troubles,  was  ap- 
parently greatly  interested,  as  was  his  father,  the  lat- 
ter suggesting  the  taking  of  blood  specimen  of  the 
cattle  for  analysis,  while  Grandfather  Warden,  in  the 
inevitable  rocker,  opined  that  the  cattle  had  probably 
partaken  of  some  poisonous  weeds  and  that  Neighbor 
Nast  had  better  have  the  pasture  looked  over. 

There  was  a  wistful  look  in  young  Warden's  face 
that  gradually  changed  into  an  expression  of  exulta- 
tion. To  Nast  the  ailment  of  the  ninety  cows  was  a 
mystery.  To  the  elder  Warden  it  suggested  a  purely 
bacteriological  problem.  To  Grandfather  Warden  the 
solution  lay  in  the  pasture  weeds.  Richard  knew  that 
the  temporary  indisposition  of  these  Berkshire  cattle 
would  lead  to  the  saving  of  thousands,  yea,  millions  of 
human  lives,  and  at  no  distant  day. 

At  the  breakfast  table  some  mornings  afterward,  he 
announced  that  he  would  go  back  to  New  York  for  a 
short  stay.  The  decision  elicited  no  comment  from  his 
father  but  it  was  received  with  an  involuntary  sigh  of 
relief  by  his  aunt,  for  the  young  man  had,  in  some  way, 
greatly  disturbed  the  spinster's  equanimity  during  the 
fortnight  or  so  that  he  had  been  with  them  in  the 
Berkshire  home. 

An  hour  later  he  was  on  a  train,  with  two  cumber- 
some valises.  Once  settled  in  his  seat  there  was  an  ex- 
pression of  deep  thought  mingled  with  satisfaction  on 
his  face  as  he  sat,  wrapped  in  his  meditations,  entirely 
unmindful  of  the  beautiful  scenery  that  swept  by  in  a 


THE    PASSPORT  15 

long  panorama  and  he  sat  there,  without  stirring,  until 
his  train  rolled  into  the  New  York  terminal. 

After  arranging  for  a  room  at  a  small  hotel  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  station,  and  depositing  his  luggage 
there,  he  bethought  himself  of  Miss  Berwin,  whom  he 
had  not  seen  in  a  month,  part  of  which  time  the  young 
lady  had  spent  in  Washington  with  her  parents.  Find- 
ing that  Mary  was  in  town,  he  went  to  her  home  in  one 
of  the  big  uptown  hotels,  determined  to  settle  one  other 
momentous  matter  besides  the  one  that  had  brought 
him  to  the  city. 

The  weather  being  mild,  with  a  glorious  late  after- 
noon sun  adding  its  lustre  to  the  feeling  of  exhilaration 
at  being  out  of  doors,  he  climbed  to  the  upper  deck 
of  one  of  the  top-heavy  motor  omnibuses  that  thread 
their  way  as  if  by  magic  through  the  maze  of  traffic 
in  New  York's  congested  streets  and  proceeded  to 
enjoy  a  pipe  and  the  human  passing  show  on  his 
journey  uptown. 

He  secured  a  seat  on  the  one  bench  remaining  va- 
cant, immediately  behind  two  portly,  florid-faced  men 
whom  he  found  were  Germans.  They  conversed  mostly 
in  German  although  sometimes  reverting  to  broken 
English,  the  latter  with  a  strong  German  flavor.  Per- 
fectly conversant  with  the  language,  he  was  able  to 
overhear  much  of  what  was  being  said,  especially  since, 
owing  to  the  rumbling  of  the  'bus,  the  two  men  spoke 
in  voices  loud  enough  at  times  to  carry  to  the  seat 
behind  them.  After  listening  to  the  first  few  words 
that  were  spoken,  he  realized  that  the  drift  of  the  con- 
versation was  most  significant.  It  gave  him  a  start- 
ling insight  into  another  phase  of  the  subject  in  which 
he  was  so  deeply  interested. 

From  what  was  said  he  gathered  that  one  of  the  men 


16  THE    PASSPORT 

had  been  for  many  years  officially  connected,  as  a  coun- 
selor, with  the  German  Embassy  at  Washington  but 
was,  in  reality,  a  German  secret  service  officer  with  a 
roving  commission  in  the  United  States.  The  other 
man  was  named  Bachman,  or  Backman,  who  lived  in  one 
of  the  suburbs  and  who,  seemingly,  was  exceedingly 
well  posted  on  the  exact  numbers  and  the  condition  of 
Germans  and  their  descendants  in  New  York  and  its 
environs. 

"The  time  is  not  yet  come,"  said  the  counselor.  "If 
this  country  had  taken  sides  with  us  against  England, 
we  could  have  had  two  million  men,  armed  to  the  teeth, 
across  the  border  into  Canada  by  now." 

"Yes,"  commented  the  other,  "we  could  have  easily 
sent  a  couple  of  hundred  thousand  men  from  New  York 
alone.  They  are  all  ready,  with  first  class  rifles  and 
plenty  of  ammunition.  We  have  ten  thousand  rifles 
stored  away  with  which  to  arm  those  I.  W.  W.  ruffians, 
who  are  ready  to  do  our  bidding  for  a  small  price  and 
the  privilege  of  looting.  They  have  been  thoroughly 
canvassed,  without  their  knowing  what  job  they  are 
wanted  for  but  they  are  keen  for  it,  whatever  it  is.  Of 
the  regulars,  we  have  five  hundred  of  our  own  people 
in  my  district  alone  at  the  last  election.  They  are 
all  naturalized  voters  but  solid  for  our  cause  to  a  man. 
We  are  drilling  right  along  among  four  hundred  and 
odd  groups  that  hold  private  smokers  and  masquerades 
once  a  week.  The  men  are  as  fine  a  body  of  soldiers 
as  His  Majesty  could  wish  for  in  Germany  to-day." 

"Did  you  get  the  disbursement  through  without 
trouble?"  the  counselor  asked. 

"We  got  it  in  five  installments  through  five  different 
German  banking  houses  here,"  was  the  reply.  "The 
distribution  among  the  different  houses  was  done  so  as 


THE    PASSPORT  17 

not  to  cause  any  talk.  All  the  clerks  in  these  houses 
that  they  were  not  entirely  sure  of  have  been  dropped. 
There  came  near  being  a  leak  at  one  time,  when  the 
first  installment  came  through.  A  hundred  thousand 
for  a  shuetzen  corps,  especially  at  this  time,  is  liable 
to  cause  comment !" 

"The  situation  is  equally  good  all  through  the  coun- 
try," broke  in  the  counselor  again.  "If  these  fools  in 
the  American  papers  don't  shut  up  and  if  those  other 
fools  in  Washington  don't  do  something  very  soon, 
His  Majesty  may  be  depended  upon  to  make  a  move 
that  will  bring  these  crazy  Yankees  to  their  senses. 
Drilling  is  going  on  all  over  the  country  and  all  our 
halls  are  stocked  with  full  equipment.  Thanks  to  His 
Majesty's  spirit,  which  pervades  all  of  us,  we  have  a 
better  standing  army  right  here  in  the  United  States 
than  any  of  the  European  states  have  over  there,  ex- 
cept our  own.  As  for  the  Yankees,  bah !  They  have 
less  than  a  hundred  thousand  regulars  all  told  and  the 
state  militias  are  a  rabble,  just  a  rabble  of  clerks,  com- 
pared to  our  seasoned  men.  Did  you  know " 

The  jolting  of  the  'bus  over  a  cobbled  cross-street, 
the  noise  of  its  horn  and  the  shouting  of  an  angry  cab 
driver,  drowned  the  rest  of  the  sentence  for  Warden, 
the  more  since  the  counselor  had  leaned  over  toward  his 
companion  and  had  finished  the  sentence  in  a  more 
subdued  tone. 

However,  he  caught  the  reply  from  the  other  man, 
who  was  evidently  much  astounded  at  the  information 
conveyed. 

"You  don't  mean  it?" 

The  counselor  answered  in  the  affirmative,  as  the 
inclination  of  his  head  indicated. 

Warden's  eavesdropping  had  been  productive,  how- 


18  THE    PASSPORT 

ever,  even  without  this  final  piece  of  information,  which 
he  had  missed.  He  was  so  intent  upon  listening  to 
everything  the  two  Germans  were  saying  that  he  had 
not  noticed,  in  a  seat  across  the  aisle  on  the  'bus 
deck,  a  black-mustached  man  who  was  watching  him 
closely.  At  the  moment  of  the  break  in  the  conversa- 
tion— for  Warden — this  man  leaned  over  the  coun- 
selor, with  his  mouth  close  to  the  latter's  ear  and 
whispered  something  to  him.  The  counselor  at  once 
repeated  what  was  said  to  him,  to  his  friend,  also  in  a 
whisper  and  then  neither  could  refrain  from  glancing 
quickly  back  of  them  at  Warden.  He,  in  the  mean- 
while, had  settled  himself  back  against  the  railing, 
something  having  told  him  that  the  black-mustached 
man's  whisper  had  to  do  with  his  eavesdropping. 

A  few  moments  later  the  'bus,  now  near  Grant's 
Tomb,  stopped  at  the  street  where  Miss  Berwin  lived 
and  he  alighted,  with  a  number  of  other  passengers. 

As  he  walked  rapidly  eastward  he  did  not  see  that 
the  man  with  the  black  mustache  was  on  the  other  side 
of  the  street,  watching  him. 


CHAPTER    III 

IN  appearance,  Mary  Berwin  was  typically  an 
American  girl,  just  as  Warden  was  a  typical  American 
boy.  There  was  no  suggestion  of  that  foreign  touch 
about  her  manner  of  acting  or  speaking  which,  as  a 
general  rule,  immediately  brands  the  alien.  Yet  he 
knew  her  as  the  daughter  of  a  former  Englishman  and 
his  wife,  naturalized  some  ten  years,  but  whose  tender 
age  at  the  time  of  coming  to  the  New  World — she  was 
then  only  ten  years  old — had  caused  Mary  to  acclimate 
quickly  and  grow  up  into  American  young  womanhood. 
Tall  and  fair,  the  girl  had  been  blessed  with  more  than 
average  beauty  and  she  had  a  quiet  graciousness  of 
manner  that  quickly  won  for  her  a  large  circle  of 
friends,  both  in  official  Washington  and  unofficial  New 
York,  the  two  places  between  which  William  Frederick 
Berwin  spent  most  of  his  time. 

"I  had  really  begun  to  believe  I  was  not  to  see  you 
again,"  pouted  Miss  Berwin  when  he  was  ushered  into 
the  apartment.  "I  have  had  a  perfectly  lovely  time  in 
Washington  but  that  does  not  absolve  you  from  having 
to  explain  why  you  did  not  come  up  during  the  fort- 
night that  we  were  still  here." 

He  made  the  best  excuses  that  he  could  think  of  at 
the  moment  without  actually  telling  the"  girl  the  reason 
of  his  neglecting  her.  He  was  burning  to  tell  her  of 
his  plans,  of  his  ambitions,  but  put  it  off  from  moment 
to  moment,  as  a  cat  puts  off  the  killing  of  the  mouse, 
although  he  could,  like  most  young  men  of  his  age, 


20  THE    PASSPORT 

well  imagine  himself  leading  this  sweet  creature  to  the 
altar  and  from  it,  and  together  facing  the  deliciously 
thrilling  career  that  he  had  mapped  out  for  himself. 

The  conversation  of  the  young  couple  drifted  nat- 
urally enough  to  the  stirring  events  in  Europe,  during 
which  he  made  it  plain  that  his  sympathies  lay  with 
the  opponents  of  the  Germans  because  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  Germans  were  waging  war. 

"It  is  too  bad,"  said  he,  "for  most  every  college 
graduate  has  always  leaned  towards  Germany  in  all 
things.  One  unconsciously  associates  student  life  with 
Germany  and,  for  me,  the  legends  of  Old  Heidelberg, 
Nuremberg  and  Frankfort  have  always  held  the 
greatest  fascination." 

Mary  became  quite  enthusiastic  as  the  conversation 
touched  upon  Germany. 

"I  was  born  in  Heidelberg,"  she  said,  clapping  her 
hands. 

"You — born  in  Heidelberg!"  he  said,  incredulously. 
"Why,  I — I  always  thought  you  were  English  by 
birth." 

"No.  You  see,  mamma  and  papa  were  on  a  visit 
to  Germany  and  I  was  born  there.  Brother  Charles, 
too,  was  born  in  Germany  while  mamma  and  papa  were 
visiting  Berlin,  and  so  was  little  Herman.  Herman 
was  born  in  Berlin  a  year  before  we  came  to  America 
from  London." 

"But  your  father  and  mother  are  English  born,  are 
they  not?" 

"Oh  yes.  I  do  not  know  just  what  part  of  England, 
though.  Father  always  had  much  business  in  Ger- 
many and  he  and  mother  often  made  trips  there.  They 
speak  German  almost  as  well  as  they  do  English."  She 
went  to  a  table  and  took  up  an  album,  which  she 


THE    PASSPORT  21 

brought  to  where  they  were  sitting.  "Here,"  she  con- 
tinued, smilingly,  "I  will  show  you  some  photographs 
of  the  town  you  so  much  admire,  taken  when  I  was  a 
little  baby  there !" 

They  amused  themselves  looking  through  the  pages, 
commenting  laughingly  on  some  of  the  bearded,  foreign 
faces  and  on  the  old-fashioned  foreign  modes  as  shown 
in  several  of  the  older  family  photographs. 

"This  is  an  old  friend  of  father's."  She  removed  a 
picture  from  its  place  and  handed  it  to  him,  for  better 
inspection.  "Isn't  he  a  splendid-looking  old  character, 
with  all  those  lovely  decorations  pinned  on  his  chest?" 
she  added,  laughing  merrily.  He  held  the  photograph 
in  his  hand  and  looked  with  interest  on  the  strong,  de- 
termined face.  Mary  was  called  out  of  the  room  by 
her  mother  and  he  arose  and  stood  at  the  mantel,  still 
with  the  picture  in  his  hand.  In  the  photograph  he 
saw  reflected  the  likeness  of  the  strongest  and  most 
powerful  man  in  Germany  of  his  day. 

"If  this  man  was  an  old  friend  of  his,"  he  said  to 
himself,  "then  Mr.  William  Frederick  Berwin  cer- 
tainly had  an  influential  friend  in  Germany." 

A  movement  he  made  scraped  the  back  of  the  picture 
against  the  mantel  and  tore  off  a  sheet  of  paper  which 
had  been  held  in  place  at  the  four  corners  by  a  bit  of 
paste.  Then  he  saw,  reflected  in  the  mirror  above  the 
mantel  shelf,  an  inscription  on  the  back,  an  inscription 
in  German.  He  had  no  difficulty  in  translating  the 
writing. 

With  Greetings  and  Well  Wishes  to 
Wilhelm  Frederick  Buhrwein,  His  Imperial 
Majesty's  most  worthy  servant,  ever  faith- 
fully devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  Emperor  and 
the  Fatherland.  1st.  August.  '95. 

VON  BOSCHE. 


22  THE    PASSPORT 

"Wilhelm  Frederick  Buhrwein — William  Frederick 
Berwin!  The  coincidence  is  certainly  peculiar,"  he 
mused. 

His  further  reflections  were  interrupted  by  Mary's 
return  and  he  frankly  turned  to  the  charming  girl  for 
a  solution  of  the  German  inscription. 

"I  guess  this  particular  picture  was  not  given  to 
your  father."  He  showed  Mary  the  writing  on  the 
back.  "This  was  written  to  a  man  named  Buhrwein, 
apparently  a  German  and  also  quite  apparently  in  the 
service  of  the  German  Emperor." 

"That  is  strange,"  said  the  girl.  "Why,  papa 
always  points  to  that  picture  with  pride  because  it  was 
given  to  him  by  a  man  so  very  powerful  in  Europe.  I 
must  ask  him  about  it." 

Just  then  Mr.  Berwin  entered  the  room.  He  greeted 
Warden  pleasantly  and  was  about  to  settle  himself  in 
a  chair  and  join  in  the  conversation  when  Mary  turned 
to  him  with  the  detached  photograph. 

"Look,  papa!"  she  cried.  "WTio  is  this  Mr.  Buhr- 
wein that  this  man  writes  to?  His  name  is  almost  like 
yours,  isn't  it?" 

William  Frederick  Berwin's  dignified  and  quiet  man- 
ner vanished  as  he  beheld  the  photograph,  with  the  Ger- 
man writing  on  the  back,  held  up  to  his  view. 

"Have  I  not  told  you  never  to  disturb  the  album?" 
he  fairly  bellowed.  "The  pictures  are  not  to  be  re- 
moved from  it.  I  intend  to  be  obeyed  when  I  say  a 
thing."  Then,  realizing  that  he  had  made  a  family 
scene  before  a  stranger,  he  mumbled  half  an  apology 
and  proceeded  to  re-insert  the  photograph  in  the  book. 
"It  is  nothing  at  all,"  he  continued,  trying  to  control 
himself  but  watching  Warden  furtively  as  he  squeezed 
and  pushed  the  photograph  back  into  its  place  in  the 


THE    PASSPORT  23 

album.  "It  is  nothing  at  all,  really.  Merely  a  picture 
that  I  got  through  a  friend  of  mine,  who  died.  The 
similarity  in  names  brought  us  together.  I  do  not 
like  to  have  my  papers  and  pictures  disturbed,  that's 
all."  And  Mr.  Berwin  attempted  a  sickly  little  laugh. 
Warden  felt  that  the  object  of  his  visit  to  Mary 
Berwin  would  not  be  attained  that  evening.  The  girl 
and  the  place  were  there,  to  be  sure,  but  there  had  been 
a  disturbing  element  and  undefinable  something  that 

had  kept  the  momentous  words  from  being  uttered  and 

•  f 
the   incident   of   the   German   photograph    completely 

shattered  the  tranquility  of  the  occasion. 

"Mary  tells  me  she  was  born  in  Heidelberg,  a  place 
I  admire  very  much,"  he  said,  finally,  to  Mr.  Berwin, 
by  way  of  starting  a  general  conversation. 

"Yes,"  replied  the  father,  "you  see,  my  wife  and  I 
were  spending  the  season  in  Germany,  as  we  do  almost 
every  year  and  so  Mary  came  to  be  born  on  German 
soil." 

"And  both  your  sons,  too,  I  understand,"  persisted 
Warden. 

"Yes,  that's  right,  quite  right." 

"But  you  yourself  were  born  in  England,  were  you 
not?" 

Berwin  turned  in  his  chair,  looking  rather  sharply 
at  Warden  over  his  eye-glasses,  as  he  answered  quickly : 

"Oh,  yes.  I'm  English.  That  is,  until  I  became 
naturalized  here,  let's  see,  I  guess  nearly  ten  years 
ago.  Now  I'm  an  American — a  Yankee !"  There  was 
an  unpleasant  smile  about  Mr.  Berwin's  lips. 

While  Berwin  spoke  English  almost  flawlessly,  Mrs. 
Berwin,  a  pleasant-faced  woman  with  an  effusiveness 
of  manner  quite  in  contrast  with  that  of  her  husband, 
and  who  had  joined  the  others  during  the  final  hour  of 


24  THE    PASSPORT 

Warden's  stay  in  the  Berwin  apartment,  had  a  decid- 
edly German  accent.  This,  she  explained,  was  because 
she  had  spent  so  much  time  in  Germany  in  her  younger 
days  and  had  kept  it  up  through  her  annual  visits  to 
that  country. 

Finally,  after  a  few  precious  moments  alone  with 
Mary,  Warden  said  his  adieus  and  departed. 

As  he  got  to  the  street  and  made  his  way  to  the 
corner,  to  board  an  omnibus,  the  man  with  the  black 
mustache  came  forth  from  the  shadow  of  a  building 
across  the  street  and  entered  the  hotel  he  had  just 
left.  The  man  took  an  elevator  without  the  formality 
of  announcing  himself  and  made  his  w»y  to  the  Berwin 
rooms.  Although  the  hour  was  then  getting  late,  Mr. 
Berwin,  who  opened  the  door  himself,  showed  no  sur- 
prise at  having  a  caller.  He  addressed  the  visitor  in 
German,  which  tongue  also  was  used  by  the  visitor. 

"What  brings  you  here  at  this  time?"  asked  Berwin, 
as  he  showed  the  other  into  the  reception  room  of  the 
apartment. 

"The  young  fellow  who  has  been  calling  here  just 
now.  Who  is  he?" 

"Why,  young  Warden?  What  are  you  interested 
in  him  for?" 

"Well,  he  was  overmuch  interested  in  the  conversa- 
tion of  Bachman  and  Von  Stamm  this  evening.  So 
much  so  that  I  decided  to  follow  him.  We  were  all  on 
top  of  a  'bus  and  I  was  sitting  well  back.  This  young 
chap  was  on  the  seat  just  back  of  the  others  and  he 
was  not  losing  a  word  of  the  conversation,  let  me  tell 
you." 

"Bachman  and  Von  Stamm  should  not  talk  of  vital 
matters  in  public  places,"  was  Berwin's  sole  comment. 
Then,  after  thinking  a  moment,  "As  for  young  War- 


THE    PASSPORT  25 

den,  he's  a  friend  of  Mary's,  a  young  college  chap,  and 
you  need  not  worry  your  head  about  him." 

Mary  entered  the  room  at  this  moment  and  heard 
Warden's  name  mentioned. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  Richard,  father?"  she 
asked,  anxiously.  Then,  noticing  the  other,  she  nod- 
ded a  formal  greeting,  for  she  had  only  seen  the  man 
once  before  when  he  had  called  on  her  father. 

"Nothing  at  all,  my  child,"  said  Berwin.  "Mr. 
Smith  here  thought  he  knew  him  when  he  met  him 
coming  out  of  the  hotel." 

"Mr.  Warden  is  a  very  nice  young  man,"  laughed 
Mary.  "He  is  going  to  be  famous  some  day,  too,  for 
he  has  made  an  invention  or  something  that  is  going 
to  stop  this  cruel  war.  You  had  better  be  nice  to  him 
for  you  may  have  him  for  a  son-in-law  some  day — if 
he  becomes  very  famous !" 

"What  does  the  young  man  think  of  the  war?" 
asked  the  father,  curiously. 

"Oh,  he  is  with  the  English  in  his  sympathies.  He 
does  not  think  much  of  the  Kaiser.  So  you  ought  to 
like  him,  papa,  for  you  are  half  English,  you  know." 

"Hm.  Yes,"  was  Berwin's  comment.  He  and  the 
man  he  had  called  Smith  exchanged  meaning  glances  as 
Mary  left  the  room.  Berwin  gave  the  other  the  name 
of  the  hotel  at  which  Richard  was  stopping  and  the 
visitor  left  the  apartment. 

The  next  morning,  after  his  breakfast,  Warden  went 
to  the  lower  part  of  the  city.  His  first  visit  was  at 
the  Naturalization  Bureau  in  the  Federal  Building  and 
there  he  asked  to  see  the  record  of  William  Frederick 
Berwin's  naturalization.  In  the  register  kept  for  this 
purpose  he  found  this  entry : 


26  THE    PASSPORT 

Date:  Nov.  15,  1905. 
Name:    William  Frederick  Berwin. 
Born:   London,  England. 
Arrived  U.  S. :   March  11,  1905. 

The  other  data  under  the  name  consisted  of  the  in- 
formation that  Berwin  had  renounced  allegiance  to 
King  Edward,  that  he  had  three  children  at  the  time 
of  taking  out  his  papers — Mary,  Charles  and  Herman 
— that  his  wife  was  living  and  that  he  had  never  been  in 
trouble  with  the  law. 

From  the  Federal  Building  he  strolled  to  the  office 
of  the  British  Consul  where,  he  felt  sure,  he  would  find 
the  record  of  Mr.  Berwin's  arrival  in  America  as  a 
British  subject  and  that  it  would  clear  up  the  mystery 
of  the  German  photograph,  which  had  bothered  him 
quite  a  little.  He  desired  to  satisfy  himself  that  his 
half-acknowledged  theory  was  absurd. 

The  British  Consul's  clerk  brought  down  a  number 
of  huge  registry  books  and  finally  turned  up,  under  the 
date  of  March  11,  1905,  among  those  who  had  regis- 
tered their  arrival  that  day  in  New  York,  that  of 
Berwin  as  follows: 

William  Frederick  Berwin;  naturalized  in  Lon- 
clon,  1893;  born  in  Berlin,  Germany,  1870;  wife, 
Augustina;  children,  Maria,  Carl  and  Herman; 
occupation,  commission  broker. 

"So  there,"  he  thought,  as  he  made  his  way  slowly 
from  the  Consulate,  "is  the  solution!  Undoubtedly 
Berwin  was  Buhrwein,  most  worthy  servant  of  the 
German  Emperor.  However,  the  man  probably  ended 
his  official  work  long  ago,  at  any  rate  when  he  became 


THE    PASSPORT  27 

a  British  subject.  So  what's  the  use  of  worrying 
about  it?" 

Then  he  suddenly  saw  the  back  of  Von  Bosche's  pho- 
tograph in  his  mind's  eye  and  remembered  the  date, 
August  1,  1895 !  Two  years  after  Mary's  father  ap- 
parently became  a  British  subject!  Von  Bosche  praised 
Buhrwein  as  faithful  to  the  German  Fatherland  and 
the  Emperor  two  years  after  Berwin  was  supposed  to 
have  foresworn  his  allegiance  to  his  German  sovereign. 
It  was  unbelievable.  He  must  find  out  more  about  it, 
if  only  in  justice  to  Mary,  who  seemingly  knew  nothing 
of  the  name  of  Buhrwein  or  her  father's  German  birth. 

Half  an  hour  after  Warden  had  left  the  British 
Consul's  office  and  when  he  was  just  stepping  into  the 
Lennox  Library,  a  very  much  excited  man  with  a  black 
mustache  jumped  from  a  motor  cab  in  front  of  the 
hotel  where  the  Berwins  lived.  He  went  upstairs  with- 
out delay  and  was  soon  in  the  Berwin  apartment. 
When  Mary's  father  appeared,  the  visitor,  in  his  ex- 
citement, caught  Berwin  unceremoniously  by  both 
lapels  of  his  coat. 

"I  was  right  in  my  suspicions  of  that  Warden  boy," 
he  whispered,  trying  to  suppress  his  nervousness.  "I've 
just  followed  him  from  the  Naturalization  Bureau  to 
the  British  Consulate.  In  each  place  he  has  been  look- 
ing you  up.  Who  is  he  and  what  is  he  after?  Do  you 
know?" 

Berwin  appeared  discomfited  as  his  excited  visitor 
spoke.  Then  he  went  to  an  album,  took  out  the  photo- 
graph that  had  caused  the  scene  the  night  before  and 
held  it  up  for  the  other  to  see.  Pointing  to  the  inscrip- 
tion on  the  back,  he  said : 

"My  daughter  took  it  from  the  album  last  night  and 
the  paper  covering  Von  Bosche's  writing  was  torn  off. 


28 

Young  Warden  read  it  and,  undoubtedly,  compared 
the  name  I  am  known  by  to-day  with  my  name  as  Von 
Bosche  wrote  it.  Before  that,  Mary  had  told  him  that 
the  man  whose  face  was  on  the  picture  had  presented 
the  photograph  to  me  and  that  I  was  very  proud  of  it. 
I  suppose  he  wanted  to  satisfy  himself  that  I  was  really 
born  in  England,  as  I  told  him  I  was.  He  found  out 
that  I  told  him  the  truth  for  my  naturalization  record 
shows  my  birth  to  have  been  in  London." 

"Yes,  and  he  also  knows  that  you  were  really  born 
in  Berlin,  as  the  British  Consul's  record  showed  him," 
snapped  the  other  man. 

Berwin  was  thoughtful  for  a  moment. 
"Well,  I  do  not  see  that  it  can  make  much  differ- 
ence," he  said  finally.     "Unless  he  decides  to  end  his 
attention  to  Mary." 

"Perhaps  not,"  replied  Berwin's  visitor,  "but  if  that 
young  fellow  has  really  some  plan  on  foot  and  if  his 
interest  in  the  conversation  of  Von  Stamm  and  Bach- 
man  was  more  than  mere  curiosity,  he  can  make  trou- 
ble, especially  since  you  did  not  state  the  truth  in  your 
American  papers.  You  swore  you  were  born  in  Lon- 
don, remember." 

"And  what  does  a  naturalization  paper  amount  to  ?" 
laughed  Berwin.  "If  these  damned  Yankees  do  not 
like  it,  the  worst  that  can  happen  is  that  my  usefulness 
here  is  ended  and  I  will  have  to  try  another  field  to 
serve  our  beloved  Emperor.  Mexico,  for  instance ! 
Hah,  my  friend,  I  have  an  idea  I  could  serve  the  Fath- 
erland well — in  Mexico!" 
"Why  in  Mexico?" 

"Because  Germany  is  the  only  country  that  can 
overpower  that  nation  of  bandits.  We  can  help  them 
with  their  grievances,  at  first,  until  we  have  their  con- 


THE    PASSPORT  29 

fidence.  After  that,  it  would  be  easy  to  get  the  Mexi- 
cans under  our  absolute  control.  The  French  failed 
and  the  Yankees  failed  but  the  Germans  will  not  fail. 
Once  firmly  settled  in  Mexico  we  could  fight  these 
Americans  across  their  southwestern  border  from  the 
Atlantic  on  their  eastern  shores  and — from  within!  It 
would  be  a  fitting  struggle — a  fight  worth  while !" 


CHAPTER   IY 

On  several  occasions  following  his  last  call  on  Mary, 
Warden  had  felt  the  uncomfortable  sensation  of  hav- 
ing his  footsteps  shadowed.  He  had  not  noticed  any 
particular  individual  more  than  once,  but  something 
had  occasionally  brought  to  him  the  "criminal  fear" 
by  which  the  habitual  criminal  is  forever  on  the  qui 
vive  for  a  pursuer.  However,  he  had  dismissed  the 
thought  each  time  as  trivial  and  unimportant. 

There  being  no  valid  reason  for  his  early  rising,  he 
generally  breakfasted  late.  His  prolonged  morning 
rest  was  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  he  would  sit  up 
long  after  midnight  engrossed  in  the  weighing  of  his 
problems  or  in  chemical  experiments,  for  which  latter 
purpose  he  had  transformed  a  private  bathroom  into  a 
laboratory. 

This  morning  he  had  awakened  with  a  hazy  memory 
of  a  dream  that  he  had  gone  through  during  the  night. 
The  recollection  of  it  grew  more  distinct  as  he  stretched 
himself  into  full  consciousness  and  moved  himself  into 
a  sitting  posture  in  bed,  the  room  flooded  with  the 
light  of  a  day  well  advanced. 

Yes,  now  he  remembered.  A  burglar  had  come  upon 
him  as  he  lay  asleep  and  he  had  hurled  a  chair  at  the 
intruder  upon  awakening.  The  fellow  had  made  off 

without  taking  any  valuables  and there  the  dream 

ended  or,  if  continued,  it  lay  buried  in  his  subjective 
mind. 

Then  he  looked  at  the  window.    He  rubbed  his  eyes. 


THE    PASSPORT  31 

Surely  he  had  not  left  the  room  in  such  a  topsy  turvy 
condition  before  retiring. 

And  he  had  not  left  the  window  open  from  the  bot- 
tom. He  was  sure  of  that. 

He  jumped  out  of  bed  and  looked  about  the  room. 
Was  it  possible  that  he  had  walked  in  his  sleep  and 
upset  his  things  this  way? 

As  he  surveyed  the  scene  his  eyes  fell  upon  something 
on  the  floor.  He  picked  it  up  and  found  it  was  a  dark 
blue  silk  'kerchief  torn  in  half,  that  did  not  belong 
to  him. 

So  there  had  been  a  burglar,  after  all!  He  had  not 
dreamt  it ! 

A  few  moments  later  there  came  a  knock  at  the  door 
and  a  bellboy  brought  him  his  morning  paper.  He  told 
the  boy  to  send  the  hotel  manager  upstairs.  When 
that  worthy  arrived  and  learned  of  his  guest's  exper- 
ience he  was  worried. 

The  rooms  on  that  floor  were  connected  on  the  out- 
side by  a  fire-escape  balcony  which  ran  the  length  of 
the  court.  There  were  four  other  guests  whose  rooms 
were  connected  by  the  balcony  and  none  of  them  had 
complained  of  a  burglar's  visit,  the  hotel  man  ex- 
plained. Three  of  these  were  women  who  had  lived  at 
the  hotel  for  a  long  time.  The  fourth,  who  occupied 
the  room  adjoining  that  of  Warden,  had  taken  it  the 
afternoon  before.  This  guest,  the  manager  said,  was 
a  short  man  with  a  dark  mustache  and  he  had  left  the 
hotel  that  morning,  just  after  breakfast.  He  would 
look  into  this  man's  room  just  by  way  of  precaution. 
When  he  returned  a  few  minutes  later  he  had  what 
looked  like  a  little  rag  in  his  hand. 

"Nothing  except  this  bit  of  cloth,"  said  the  manager. 

"That's  plenty  and  sufficient,"   answered   Warden. 


32  THE    PASSPORT 

"I  found  the  other  half  of  that  piece  of  cloth  under 
my  window  on  the  floor  this  morning." 

After  the  manager  left  he  went  over  his  effects  but 
could  not  discover  anything  missing  and  concluded  the 
thief  had  been  frightened  away  before  gathering  up 
anything  that  he  could  have  carried  off. 

A  glance  over  the  morning  paper  brought  an  excla- 
mation of  pleasure  to  his  lips. 

"The  very  thing!"  he  cried. 

He  hurried  with  his  dressing  and  then  spent  an  hour 
in  the  improvised  laboratory. 

In  the  early  afternoon  he  presented  himself  at  the 
idoor  of  a  tall  building  in  Union  Square.  The  build- 
ing was  closed,  it  being  a  half  holiday,  but  he  found 
the  janitor  sitting  on  a  little  chair  in  the  hall  on  the 
ground  floor. 

"I  am  anxious  to  make  some  bird's-eye  photographs 
of  the  meeting  in  the  Square  this  afternoon,"  he  said 
to  the  janitor.  "Would  you  let  me  do  this  from  the 
roof,  or  from  one  of  the  windows  on  the  top  floor?" 
At  the  same  time  he  slipped  into  the  janitor's  hand  a 
greenback,  removing  thereby  any  objections  the 
guardian  of  the  building  might  otherwise  have  had. 

He  was  taken  upstairs  in  the  elevator.  While  the 
janitor  was  showing  him  into  an  empty  loft  on  the 
top  floor,  a  well-dressed  man  waited  at  the  door  down- 
stairs. The  newcomer  approached  as  the  janitor  re- 
turned from  his  trip  to  the  top  floor. 

"Did  a  man  with  a  camera  come  here  a  while  ago?" 
he  asked.  Upon  receiving  an  answer  in  the  affirmative, 
he  continued:  "I'm  his  assistant  so  I  would  like  to 
join  him.  On  the  top  floor?  Alright,  thank  you.  No, 
I  will  walk  up.  I  need  the  exercise." 

With  that  the  stranger  went  upstairs  and,  on  the 


THE    PASSPORT  33 

top  floor,  hid  quietly  in  one  of  the  small  rooms  in  the 
loft  from  where  he  could  observe  Warden  at  the  win- 
dow facing  the  Square  below. 

The  Sphere,  most  important  and  reliable  of  morning 
dailies,  had  this  remarkable  account  of  an  occurrence 
that  had  set  the  entire  city  and,  in  fact,  the  country, 
talking,  as  its  leading  piece  of  local  news  on  the  front 
page  of  its  issue  the  next  morning: 

4,000    "REDS"    AND    I.    W.    W.    RUFFIANS 

STRANGELY  STRICKEN  IN 

UNION  SQUARE 


Police  and  Reporters  Also  Affected 


In  the  Midst  of  Harangues  by  Agitators  at  the 

Regular  Saturday  Afternoon  Demonstration, 

Every  Person  in  the  Meeting  Zone  Is 

Laid  Low  by  a  Mysterious  Ailment 


Four  thousand  or  more  picturesquely  dirty  men  and 
women,  advertised  as  the  "Army  of  Unemployed,"  but 
consisting  for  the  most  part  of  professional  anarchists, 
anti-law-and-order  agitators  and  followers  of  the  so- 
called  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World,  gathered  in 
Union  Square  at  two  o'clock  yesterday  afternoon  to 
listen  to  speeches  by  their  leaders.  At  two-thirty 
o'clock  every  one  of  them,  besides  at  least  two  hundred 
police  officers,  a  dozen  reporters  and  several  photogra- 
phers, were  suddenly  stricken  with  an  ailment  that 
rendered  them  unconscious  for  from  four  to  five  hours. 

What  the  cause  of  the  strange  visitation  was  has  not 
been  discovered,  although  the  police  and  health  depart- 
ments of  the  city  worked  diligently  far  into  the  night 
to  find  a  solution  to  the  mystery. 


34  THE    PASSPORT 

Three  men  were  talking  from  as  many  points  of 
vantage  in  the  crowd  when  the  weird  thing  happened. 
Whatever  it  was,  it  came  suddenly,  so  suddenly  that 
the  reporters  on  the  edge  of  the  crowd  near  the  park 
cottage  did  not  remember  what  had  occurred  when 
they  came  to. 

From  spectators  at  windows  in  offices  overlooking 
the  Square  it  was  learned  that  those  who  first  ran  to 
the  scene  when  men  and  women  were  seen  sinking  to 
their  knees  were  also  completely  overcome.  Only  those 
who  reached  the  stricken  ones  from  five  to  ten  minutes 
after  the  visitation  were  able  to  render  assistance  and 
these  later  comers  did  not  find  any  explanation  for 
the  strange  happening. 

The  speeches  were  at  the  height  of  their  blasphemous 
and  vicious  attack  on  organized  society,  law,  order,  and 
government,  and  the  huge  crowd  had  reached  the  climax 
of  its  riotous  delight  over  the  fiery  words  spoken  by 
their  loud-lunged  orators  when  two  little  toy  balloons, 
evidently  weighted,  fluttered  down  upon  the  heads  of 
the  mob. 

In  big,  white  letters  on  a  background  of  blue  there 
was  printed  on  the  balloons  "Down  with  Anarchy." 
One  of  the  little  globes  rested  for  a  moment  on  a  second- 
story  window-sill  of  the  building  on  the  north  side  of 
the  plaza  where  the  meeting  was  being  held,  but  it  fell 
away  just  as  the  janitor's  wife  ran  to  the  window  to 
secure  it.  She  was  the  only  person  who  saw  the  in- 
scription on  the  balloon — except  those  who  were  later 
stricken  down — and  who  was  able  to  tell  the  police 
about  it. 

The  crowd  seemed  frenzied  when  they  saw  the  bal- 
loons. Hundreds  of  hands  were  raised  ready  to  crush 
them  when  they  should  get  within  reach.  At  the  very 
moment  that  the  two  little  balloons  were  crushed,  amid 
frantic  yells,  the  "thing"  happened. 


THE    PASSPORT  35 

Rapidly  those  in  the  anarchist  meeting  zone  toppled 
over  without  a  struggle.  The  janitor's  wife  declared 
afterward  that  all  the  thousands  in  the  mob  were 
stricken  within  the  space  of  one  minute. 

The  two  police  inspectors  standing  on  the  balcony 
of  the  park  cottage,  where  they  could  look  over  the 
heads  of  the  mob,  were  seen  to  sink  to  their  knees.  On 
the  asphalt,  auditors  fell  in  heaps  with  blue-coated 
policemen  in  their  midst. 

Newspaper  reporters,  with  rolls  of  "copy"  paper 
and  pencils  clutched  in  their  hands,  were  lying  near  the 
park  cottage  platform.  Two  photographers  who  had 
been  stationed  on  a  pile  of  lumber  fell  to  the  pavement, 
one  of  them  suffering  a  fractured  arm,  and  with  both 
their  cameras  crushed  in  the  fall.  A  cinematograph 
operator  sank  to  his  knees  on  a  mound  of  paving  blocks 
upon  which  his  camera  remained  upon  its  tripod. 

A  strange  spectacle  was  that  of  the  horse  attached  to 
the  runabout  of  Battalion  Chief  Hay  of  the  Fire  De- 
partment, and  his  driver,  both  of  whom  were  overcome 
in  their  vehicle.  The  animal  was  also  stricken  and  lay 
in  a  heap  between  the  shafts. 

Police  reserves  from  all  nearby  stations  came  on  the 
run  after  Police  Headquarters  had  been  notified  by 
citizens  and  ambulances  from  all  the  hospitals  were 
summoned. 

The  scene  in  the  Square  at  three  o'clock  was  inde- 
scribable. 

The  avenues  on  either  side  of  the  Square  were  alive 
with  people  and  from  the  southern  end  of  the  park  an 
onrushing  mob  of  spectators  trampled  across  the  lawns 
in  a  mad  scramble  for  a  closer  view  of  the  calamity. 
In  grim  contrast,  the  plaza  at  the  northern  end  of  the 
Square  was  filled  with  a  mass  of  inanimate  bodies. 
Arms,  legs  and  heads  protruded  in  indescribable  con- 
fusion. 


36  THE    PASSPORT 

It  was  as  if  a  sudden  pestilence  had  stricken  every 
man  and  woman  in  that  disorderly  crowd  and  felled 
them  all  simultaneously.  Many  little  children,  lying 
as  dead  between  their  elders,  added  a  pathetic  touch  to 
the  weird  scene. 

It  was  manifestly  impossible  to  take  four  thousand 
or  more  unconscious  persons  to  hospitals  in  the  limited 
number  of  ambulances  available,  so  a  call  was  sent  in 
for  every  police  patrol  wagon  within  a  radius  of  five 
miles.  When  these  arrived  by  the  dozen  the  work  of 
removing  the  senseless  ones  progressed  with  slightly 
better  success. 

The  ambulance  doctors  and  many  volunteer  physi- 
cians who  were  among  the  spectators  failed  absolutely 
to  diagnose  the  ailment  of  the  crowd  and  all  that  could 
be  done  was  to  pile  the  stricken  ones  into  hospital  and 
police  conveyances  and  hurry  them  to  the  hospitals. 

The  fact  that  none  in  that  awful,  silent  mass  moved 
a  muscle,  struck  an  undefinable  terror  into  the  hearts  of 
the  rescuers.  It  was  a  weird  and  ghastly  proceeding 
and  those  who  first  arrived  on  the  scene  for  the  work 
of  rescue  were  completely  staggered  by  the  hugeness 
of  the  task. 

It  was  not  very  long  before  the  news  had  spread 
over  the  city  and  all  thoroughfares  leading  to  the 
Square  were  choked  with  a  struggling,  fighting  mob  of 
the  curious. 

By  half-past  six  o'clock  less  than  twelve  hundred 
unconscious  persons  had  been  removed  to  hospitals  and 
the  police  were  in  despair  at  the  hopelessness  of  the 
prospect  of  taking  at  least  three  thousand  more  away. 
The  police  were  arranging  for  searchlights  to  aid  in 
the  work  of  removal  when  darkness  should  set  in,  and 
fresh  platoons  of  reserves  were  being  rushed  from  out- 
lying districts  of  the  city  to  relieve  the  exhausted  men 
who  had  worked  with  feverish  energy  all  the  afternoon, 


THE    PASSPORT  37 

when,  just  as  suddenly  as  it  had  been  stricken,  the  huge 
mass  of  humanity  that  lay  packed  in  the  Square  began 
to  recover  consciousness. 

Within  an  hour  the  disconcerted  remnant  of  the  an- 
archist meeting  dwindled  slowly  away.  At  the  same 
time  word  came  from  the  hospitals  that  the  patients 
there  also  were  recovering  and  were,  seemingly,  none  the 
worse  for  their  experience  except  for  a  slight  dizziness. 

Absolutely  no  explanation  has  been  offered  for  the 
strange  occurrence. 

The  Berwins  had  been  in  Washington  for  several 
days  and  returned  to  New  York  on  the  Monday  morn- 
ing following  the  happening  in  Union  Square.  They 
had,  of  course,  seen  the  reports  of  it  in  the  Sunday 
papers  in  the  Capital.  When  they  arrived  at  their 
New  York  home  they  found  the  man  whom  Berwin  had 
called  Smith  waiting  for  them  in  the  hotel  reception 
room.  He  accompanied  the  Berwins  to  their  apart- 
ment and  Mary's  father  immediately  showed  the  man 
into  the  study. 

"Well,"  said  Berwin,  "I  see  you  had  some  happen- 
ings in  New  York  while  we  were  away?" 

The  other  was  evidently  laboring  under  great,  sup- 
pressed excitement.  He  walked  up  and  down  the  room 
in  rapid  strides  as  Berwin  spoke. 

"There  was  something  about  it  that  I  did  not  like," 
he  said,  suddenly.  "On  Saturday  I  looked  up  young 
Warden  and  followed  him  in  the  afternoon  to  the  build- 
ing on  the  north  side  of  Union  Square,  overlooking  the 
anarchist  meeting  place.  He  was  carrying  a  big  box 
that  looked  like  a  large  camera.  I  saw  him  bribe  the 
janitor  to  let  him  go  upstairs.  When  the  janitor 
came  back  I  told  him  I  was  the  photographer's  assist- 
ant. He  allowed  me  up,  too,  unknown  to  young  War- 


38  THE    PASSPORT 

den.  I  hid  in  a  closet  from  where  I  could  watch  the 
boy  and  finally  saw  him  lean  out  of  the  window,  hold 
his  camera  box  at  arm's  length  and  apparently  take  a 
bird's-eye  photograph  of  what  was  happening  below. 
Then  he  got  back  into  the  room.  I  could  have  pushed 
him  out  of  that  window  without  any  trouble  and  with- 
out anybody  being  the  wiser,  while  he  was  leaning  over 
the  sill.  Somehow,  I'm  half  sorry  I  did  not  do  it. 

Now "  here  he  grasped  Berwin  by  both  shoulders 

and  spoke  very  earnestly,  "now,  I  don't  know  what 
that  boy  was  up  to.  He  appeared,  of  course,  to  be 
taking  pictures  and  he  may  not  have  had  anything  to 
do  with  what  occurred  below.  But  somehow  I  feel 
that  this  infernal  young  Yankee  knew  it  was  going  to 
happen — whatever  it  was!" 

"What  is  you  theory  of  what  really  did  happen?" 
asked  Berwin. 

The  other  man  had  resumed  his  pacing  up  and  down 
the  room. 

"Do  you  think  I  am  any  wiser  than  the  experts  of 
the  Health  Office,  Police  Bureau,  Fire  Department,  the 
Mayor  and  all  the  rest  who  are  trying  their  best  to 
hand  some  sort  of  theory  to  these  sensational  New 
York  sheets  that  are  clamoring  for  reasons?  How  I 
hate  those  New  York  papers !  Oh,  to  see  them  muzzled 
and  their  dogs  of  proprietors  either  jailed  or  begging 
their  miserable  living  from  the  hands  of  our  glorious 
compatriots!  They  howl  about  Rheims  and  Louvain! 
Hah!  Wait  till  these  damned  Yankees  see  New  York. 
German  architecture  will  rise  out  of  the  ruins  of  these 
ugly  piles  and  Neuer  Berlin  will  live  as  the  great  won- 
der city  of  the  Western  Hemisphere!" 

Berwin  showed  impatience  at  his  visitor's  increasing 
enthusiasm.  Collected  and  unimpulsive  to  the  point  of 


THE    PASSPORT  39 

being  phlegmatic  himself,  he  could  not  appreciate  the 
other's  enthusiasm  beyond  a  certain  point. 

"Well,  well,  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  young  War- 
den taking  photographs  of  the  mob  in  Union  Square?" 
he  asked  somewhat  testily.  "Where's  the  significance 
of  Warden's  picture-taking,  anyway?" 

"This  much.  Young  Warden  was  highly  excited  af- 
ter leaning  out  of  the  window  and  exposing  his  camera 
box.  After  doing  this  he  jumped  back  into  the  room, 
closing  the  window  at  which  he  had  been  working  and 
also  carefully  closing  two  other  windows  that  had  been 
left  slightly  open  at  the  top.  Then  he  attached  a  sort 
of  half  mask  over  his  face  which  covered  his  nose  and 
mouth.  It  had  little  perforations  through  which  I 
could  see  there  was  gauze  packed  underneath.  Before 
adjusting  the  mask  he  saturated  the  gauze  from  the 
contents  of  a  little  bottle.  Then  he  opened  the  window 
and  looked  out  again  for  nearly  ten  minutes.  When 
he  jumped  back  he  took  his  camera  box  and,  still 
wearing  the  mask,  made  his  way  down  the  stairs.  Com- 
ing from  behind  the  elevator,  he  must  have  seen  the 
janitor  prostrated  in  the  open  doorway  leading  to  the 
street  for  I  stepped  over  the  janitor's  body  a  moment 
later.  Warden  must  have  removed  his  mask  when  he 
came  into  the  street  for  he  stood  there,  with  a  mighty 
strange  expression  on  his  face,  gazing  at  that  uncon- 
scious anarchist  cattle.  He  deliberately  lied  to  a  po- 
lice officer  who  asked  him  if  he  had  been  there  when 
the  thing  happened  for  he  told  the  officer  that  he  had 
just  arrived  on  the  scene  with  his  camera." 

"I  still  fail  to  see  anything  very  remarkable  about 
it,  Max  Schmidt,"  persisted  Berwin.  "His  taking  pic- 
tures of  the  mob  just  as  it  was  stricken  down  in  a  mys- 
terious way  may  be  just  a  coincidence.  There  were 


40  THE    PASSPORT 

other  photographers  there,  according  to  the  published 
reports." 

Max  stopped  short  in  his  strides  and  leaned  with  one 
hand,  spread  wide  open,  on  a  small  table  in  the  center 
of  the  room.  He  eyed  Berwin  for  an  instant  much  like 
a  sharpshooter  takes  sight  before  sending  the  shot 
home  to  its  mark. 

"Supposing  I  tell  you,"  he  said,  slowly,  "that  young 
Warden's  camera  was  no  camera  at  all.  That  it  was 
an  empty  box,  covered  with  black  leather  and  with 
fake  camera  attachments  at  one  end?  A  lens  through 
which  light  could  not  penetrate  into  the  box  for  the 
very  good  reason  that  there  was  no  hole  in  the  wood 
at  that  end !" 

Berwin  looked  very  serious  as  Max  spoke. 

"How  do  you  know  that  ?"  he  asked. 

"Because  when  I  got  into  the  same  street-car  with* 
him,  Warden  opened  the  lens-end  of  the  box,  which 
worked  on  hinges.  I  saw  that  the  end  piece  of  the  box 
was  perfectly  plain,  smooth  wood  on  the  inside,  like 
the  other  five  sides  of  the  interior.  He  put  the  pack- 
age containing  his  mask  and  several  newspapers  inside 
for  convenience  in  carrying  and  closed  the  box  up 
again  with  a  simple  little  hook." 

Berwin  whistled  softly. 

"That  does  look  strange,"  he  said.  "Where  (did  he 
go?"  he  asked  after  a  few  moment's  reflection. 

"To  his  hotel." 

"Did  you  follow  him?" 

"As  far  as  the  door.  I  could  not  very  well  go  in 
the  place  after  my  entering  his  room  the  other  night. 
I  do  not  know  how  near  the  hotel  people  came  to  con- 
nect the  burglar  with  Warden's  next  door  neighbor 


THE    PASSPORT  41 

and  I  cannot  afford  to  be  jailed  for  burglary  just 
now." 

"What  did  you  find  in  his  room?"  asked  Berwin. 

"Plenty  of  bottles,  tubes,  acids,  books  on  chemistry. 
I  looked  through  all  his  clothes  but  the  only  writing  I 
found  was  a  copy  of  Von  Bosche's  inscription  on  the 
back  of  the  photograph  that  you  have  and  a  memo- 
randum of  your  naturalization  and  consular  entries." 


CHAPTER   V 

PROGRESS  in  events  of  international  importance  over- 
shadowed local  interest  in  the  "Union  Square  Mys- 
tery," as  the  happening  came  to  be  spoken  of  in  the 
American  metropolis.  Try  as  hard  as  he  might,  Max 
had  discovered  nothing  further  about  young  Richard 
Warden  and  his  doings  that  could  be  construed  in  any 
way  bearing  upon  the  mission  that  he  and  Berwin  had 
in  hand. 

As  for  Warden,  he  had,  as  we  know  from  Max 
Schmidt's  report  to  Berwin,  gone  directly  to  his  hotel 
from  Union  Square  on  that  memorable  Saturday  after- 
noon. For  the  first  time  since  he  had  felt  that  he  was 
being  shadowed  he  had  seen  the  same  man  lingering  in 
his  vicinity  more  than  once.  He  felt  morally  certain 
that  the  short,  stout  man  who  stood  looking  up  and 
down  the  street  nervously  as  he  entered  the  hotel,  was 
the  same  individual  whom  he  had  noticed  lingering 
around  with  more  than  passing  interest  when  he  had 
stopped  to  talk  to  the  police  officer  after  the  excite- 
ment in  the  Square.  He  also  recollected,  now,  that 
there  was  a  man  of  the  same  description  in  the  car  with 
him  on  the  way  from  the  Square  to  the  hotel. 

In  his  room,  after  depositing  the  camera  box  in  his 
"laboratory,"  he  noted  the  time  and  gave  himself  two 
hours  for  complete  relaxation  of  body  and  mind. 
Shortly  after  five  o'clock  he  emerged  from  the  little 
hostelry.  For  a  few  moments  he  stood  at  the  entrance, 
casually  looking  up  and  down  the  street  but  failed  to 


THE    PASSPORT  43 

catch  any  glimpse  of  the  man  whom  he  felt  sure  had 
followed  him.  Then  he  made  his  way  back  to  the 
Square  again  and  remained  at  the  scene  of  the  disturb- 
ance, closely  watching  events  there,  until  the  last  of  the 
stricken  anarchists  had  recovered  consciousness  and 
departed. 

With  an  air  of  evident  satisfaction  the  young  man 
retraced  his  footsteps  to  the  hotel  and  immediately  be- 
gan to  pack  his  belongings.  His  bottles  and  testing 
apparatus  he  put  into  a  small  wooden  case  that  he  had 
secured  for  the  purpose  and  had  one  of  the  hotel  boys 
take  it  downstairs  to  the  hotel  office.  His  personal 
things  were  put  into  the  big  valise  which  he  brought 
downstairs  himself.  After  paying  his  bill  he  requested 
that  the  wooden  case  be  held  for  him  until  he  again 
should  call  for  it  and  then  he  went  to  a  little  restaurant 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  patronizing,  for  his  dinner.  The 
place  was  kept  by  a  German  who  had,  however,  long 
ago — and  with  considerable  pride — shown  young  War- 
den his  naturalization  papers. 

On  this  particular  evening,  with  his  arm  full  of  the 
day's  late  editions,  he  found  many  Teutonic  friends 
of  Frank,  the  manager,  in  the  place.  Frank,  who  had 
been  christened  Franz,  had  changed  the  spelling  of  his 
name  with  his  allegiance. 

The  conversation  of  the  Germans  was  confined  ex- 
clusively to  the  war  and  Warden  took  a  seat  near  the 
serving  counter  so  that  he  might  overhear  the  contem- 
poraneous analysis  of  the  struggle  in  Europe,  as  eluci- 
dated by  those  who,  while  they  had  purposely  sepa- 
rated themselves  from  military  oppression,  were  now 
advocating  it  as  the  most  wholesome  of  national  virtues. 

"Ve  are  keeping  all  de  glibbings  from  dese  lying  New 
York  papers,"  volunteered  the  erstwhile  Franz,  "unt 


44  THE    PASSPORT 

efery  vun  goes  to  Berlin,  to  der  Wilhelmstrasse.  You 
yoost  remember  I  say  it.  At  Berlin  dey  know  vot  pa- 
pers haf  insoolted  der  Kaiser  in  New  York  unt  tings 
vill  happen.  Yoost  remember  I  say  it." 

Franz,  from  a  more  or  less  lengthy  acquaintance 
with  the  young  collegian,  had  come  to  regard  Warden 
as  being  in  accord  with  every  opinion  generated  in  his 
Germanic  brain.  Warden's  complacency  in  this  direc- 
tion had  been  superinduced  principally  by  the  friendly 
attention  of  Franz  to  the  ham  and  eggs  or  the  omelettes 
with  which  Warden  was  wont  to  regale  himself.  In 
all  seriousness  the  restaurant  man  and  his  coterie  of 
expatriates  collected  every  printed  criticism  of  Ger- 
many, her  army,  her  navy  and  her  Emperor  and  War- 
den found,  from  uncontrovertible  evidence,  that  this 
data  was  actually  sent  to  Germany  and  duly  acknowl- 
edged by  the  powers  in  Wilhelmstrasse. 

"Der  Kaiser  vill  know  who  ees  his  frents  unt  also 
close  vot  ees  not  his  frents,"  pursued  Franz.  "It  ees 
der  same  vay  all  ofer  der  United  Shtates.  Der  ees  not 
von  place  anyvere  dat  der  Chermans  don't  sent  efery- 
ting  to  Chermany  vot  ees  printed  in  dees  lying  Amer- 
ican papers." 

"But,"  suggested  Warden  good-naturedly,  "you're 
an  American  now,  Frank.  Why  are  you  so  busy  send- 
ing clippings  to  the  Kaiser?" 

"Dot's  alright,"  said  the  restaurateur,  heatedly. 
"Dot's  alright.  I'm  an  American  alright.  I  got  my 
papers.  But  yoost  de  same  ve  can't  haf  lies  told  about 
Chermany.  Chermany  vill  win  dis  var  an'  den  de  beo- 
ples  here  in  der  United  Shtates  vot  lied  unt  insoolted 
der  Kaiser  had  better  look  ouidt!" 

"Frank,"  he  asked,  half  seriously,  "supposing — just 
supposing — that  Germany  was  not  beaten  in  this  war 


THE    PASSPORT  45 

and  should  declare  war  on  the  United  States,  what 
would  you  do?  What  would  your  friends  do?" 

The  German  looked  significantly  first  at  Warden 
and  then  from  man  to  man  in  the  group  of  expatriates 
about  him. 

"Don't  ask  me !"  he  fairly  shouted.  "Don't  ask  me ! 
Ve  vould  know  vat  to  do !  Vouldn't  ve,  fellows  ?" 
Turning  to  Richard,  "I  von't  say  vot  I'd  do  but  der 
United  Shtates  vould  get  de  biggest  surbrise  id  efer 
had  if  Chermany  efer  made  var  on  dis  country.  I  hope 
for  der  United  Shtates  id  nefer  vill  happen.  Yoost 
remember  I  say  it!" 

Warden  ate  his  meal  in  silence  thereafter,  looking 
over  the  hysterical  headlines  in  the  evening  sheets  and 
leaving  the  war  discussion  to  Franz  and  his  cohorts. 
Somehow  the  food  did  not  taste  good  to  him  that  even- 
ing. He  felt  a  certain  relief  to  be  out  of  the  place. 
He  had  never  felt  that  way  before.  After  squaring  his 
account  he  went  to  the  train  terminal  and  an  hour  later 
was  being  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  rhythmical  hum  of 
the  wheels  and  rails. 

After  the  exciting  events  through  which  he  had 
passed,  a  few  days  spent  amidst  the  quiet  of  the  Berk- 
shires  strongly  appealed  to  him.  Not  having  an- 
nounced his  coming,  there  was  no  one  to  greet  him  as 
he  stepped  off  the  train  at  the  station  and,  the  hour 
being  very  early,  he  enjoyed  a  refreshing  Sunday  morn- 
ing walk  through  the  country. 

He  had  hardly  entered  the  house  where,  in  the  cheer- 
ful kitchen,  he  found  his  aunt  supervising  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  breakfast,  when  a  messenger  from  the  vil- 
lage telegraph  office  brought  a  telegram.  It  was  an 
open  question  as  to  which  surprised  the  worthy  Eliza- 
beth the  most — the  unexpected  arrival  of  her  nephew 


46  THE    PASSPORT 

or  the  messenger  with  the  telegram.     The  combination 
was  almost  overwhelming,  for  a  quiet  Sabbath  morning. 

The  message  was  for  him  and  proved  to  be  from 
Mary  Berwin.  It  had  been  sent  from  Washington  to 
his  New  York  hotel  and  from  there  forwarded  to  the 
New  England  hamlet.  "Returning  Monday.  Must  see 
you  immediately  unknown  to  father.  Imperative. 
Mary."  He  read  the  message  over  several  times  as 
Aunt  Elizabeth  divided  her  attention  between  her  bis- 
cuits and  her  nephew.  Then  he  pocketed  the  bit  of 
yellow  paper  and  turned  to  the  bustling  spinster. 

"Well,  Aunt  Elizabeth.  I'm  quite  a  busy  man  for 
a  fellow  hardly  out  of  college.  Thought  I  would  spend 
a  day  or  two  with  you  and  father  and  here  is  a  tele- 
gram calling  me  back  to  New  York  in  a  hurry,  before 
I  fairly  arrive!  But  they  will  have  to  wait.  Nothing 
shall  interfere  with  my  two  days  at  home." 

The  elder  Warden,  deeply  interested  in  his  own 
studies  and  experiments,  during  the  long  years  of  which 
he  had  achieved  a  number  of  signal  scientific  triumphs, 
was  eager  to  know  whether  his  son,  also,  had  promise 
of  great  things  in  the  future. 

"I  believe  I  am  on  the  right  track,  father,"  the  young 
man  told  him.  "My  visit  home  is  for  the  three-fold 
purpose  of  getting  some  rest,  the  need  of  which  you 
will  later  understand,  to  get  some  funds  and  to  leave 
with  you  a  parcel  containing  matters  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  me.  If  at  any  time  more  than  a  week 
shall  elapse  without  you  hearing  from  me,  you  are  to 
open  the  parcel,  which  now  is  sealed.  Otherwise,  it  is 
to  remain  sealed  until  I  come  here  again." 

Richard  had  a  modest  income  of  his  own  but  for  the 
plans  that  he  had  in  mind  he  felt  the  need  of  sufficient 
funds  on  hand  to  carry  him  through  for  several  months. 


THE    PASSPORT  47 

He  therefore  arranged  with  his  father  for  an  advance 
on  his  income  and  then  settled  down  to  two  days'  thor- 
ough enjoyment  of  the  country  quiet.  Some  time  on 
Tuesday  he  would  take  a  comfortable  day  train  back 
to  New  York.  That  would  be  plenty  time  for  his  plans. 
But  a  second  telegram  came  from  Mary.  It  ar- 
rived at  noon  on  Monday  and  it  decided  him  to  leave 
at  once.  The  second  message  was  not  re-assuring. 
"On  your  return  telephone  me,  saying  you  are  Kathlyn 
Strevers'  brother  and  that  you  want  to  know  where 
Kathlyn  is  to  meet  me.  Do  Hurry.  Danger.  Mary." 
This  time  the  message  came  from  New  York,  indicat- 
ing that  Mary  was  home  again.  He  began  to  wonder 
whether  he  had  succeeded  so  soon  in  getting  himself 
into  difficulty.  He  felt  certain  that  no  one  had  guessed 
his  plans  and  the  only  thing  that  began  to  grow  hazy 
and  indistinct  in  his  mind  while,  at  the  same  time,  it 
began  to  assume  a  sinister  importance,  was  the  posi- 
tion of  Mary's  father,  coupled  with  the  conversation 
of  the  two  men  on  the  omnibus.  He  had  not  connected 
these  two  incidents  before.  Now,  with  Mary's  tele- 
grams, a  sudden  analogy  presented  itself  to  him.  The 
various  comments  on  the  possiblity  of  war  between  his 
own  country  and  Germany,  including  the  talk  that  he 
had  overheard  in  Franz's  lunch  place,  did  not  diminish 
the  intuitive  forebodings  of  catastrophe  to  come. 

Two  hours  after  his  return  to  New  York,  he  called 
Mary  on  the  telephone.  In  answer  to  the  maid's  in- 
quiry he  answered,  "Mr.  Strevers,  brother  of  Miss 
Kathlyn,  wants  to  speak  to  Miss  Berwin."  He  had 
not  the  slightest  idea  what  Kathlyn's  brother's  Chris- 
tian name  was  but  he  was  assisted  out  of  his  dilemma 
a  moment  later  by  Mr.  Berwin.  "Hello!  Is  this  you, 
John?"  came  the  query,  which  he  countered  with  a  half- 


48  THE    PASSPORT 

hearted  "Yes,  this  is  Jack."  It  struck  him  almost  im- 
mediately that  John  Strevers  might  be  one  of  those 
Johns  who  dislike  the  familiar  equivalent  for  their 
Christian  name.  But  Mr.  Berwin  was  not  surprised 
for  he  pleasantly  asked  after  the  welfare  of  the  Strev- 
ers family.  Not  even  knowing  the  numerical  strength 
of  Kathlyn's  kin,  he  parried  as  best  he  could  in  order 
to  gain  time.  Finally  Mary  came  to  the  telephone. 
After  some  desultory  pleasantries  about  Kathlyn  and 
"Brother  Jack,"  in  which  she  displayed  that  feminine 
talent  for  dissimulation  that  every  woman  has  at  her 
immediate  command  in  an  emergency,  Mary  decided 
that  she  would  meet  "Kathlyn"  at  the  Astor  for  lunch- 
eon, at  one  o'clock,  the  following  day. 

Unlike  a  great  many,  if  not  most  women,  Mary  was 
prompt  in  her  engagements.  He  was  waiting  for  her 
somewhat  in  advance  of  the  appointed  hour  in  one  of 
the  reception  rooms  commanding  a  view  of  the  en- 
trance through  which,  in  all  likelihood,  she  would  come. 
When  she  appeared  the  two  at  once  preempted  a  table 
in  a  corner  of  the  palm  garden  the  lowered  lights  of 
which  seemed  unconsciously  to  offer  the  proper  nook 
for  a  serious  and  clandestine  interview. 

"Dick,"  began  the  girl,  "something  terribly  serious 
is  happening.  I  do  not  know  exactly  what  it  is,  but  I 
feel  it  is  something  terrible.  In  the  first  place,  I  found 
out  that  my  name  is  not  really  Berwin  but  Buhrwein." 
He  nodded,  to  show  that  he  had  been  almost  sure  of 
that.  "Then,  my  father  and  mother  are  German  born, 
just  like  us  children.  And,  worst  of  all,  father  is  an 
officer  or  something  in  the  German  government,  while 
he  is  supposed  to  be  an  American.  Why,  he  has  voted 
regularly  for  many  years!  Dick,  I'm  afraid — terribly 
afraid." 


THE    PASSPORT  49 

"And  how  did  you  come  to  learn  all  this?"  he  asked, 
gently. 

"When  we  came  to  Washington  father  had  a  lot  of 
German  people  visiting  him."  The  girl  leaned  forward 
over  the  table  and  impulsively  took  hold  of  each  of  his 
wrists.  "It  all  comes  back  to  me  now.  I  never  really 
realized  it.  Dick,  ever  since  we  came  to  America  father 
always  had  mysterious  conferences  with  Germans  who 
came  to  call  on  him  at  all  sorts  of  odd  moments.  Well, 
this  time  we  had  many  of  them  visiting  us  in  Washing- 
ton and  in  the  evening  I  heard  mamma  and  papa  talk- 
ing very  earnestly  after  we  had  all  retired.  Papa 
seemed  angry  at  mamma  and  I  got  out  of  bed  very 
quietly  and  listened  at  the  connecting  door  between 
their  room  and  mine.  Mamma  was  saying,  'But  you 
certainly  cannot  do  that,  Wilhelm !'  to  which  my  father 
replied  that  he  certainly  could  and  would  do  it,  what- 
ever it  was.  Then  mamma  said  it  was  wanton  and 
fiendish  and  that  she  was  beginning  to  feel  sorry  that 
she  was  German." 

"Did  you  not  get  the  slightest  inkling  as  to  what  the 
'it'  was?" 

"No,"  replied  Mary,  "I  am  sorry  to  say  I  did  not. 
I  even  asked  mamma  about  it  the  next  morning,  when 
we  were  quite  alone.  First,  I  drew  her  out  on  the  war. 
I  talked  about  the  barbarous  things  the  Germans  were 
doing  and  I  asked  her  what  she  really  thought  of  it  all. 
Mamma  began  to  cry.  'It  is  all  so  horrible,  child,' 
she  said,  'that  I  cannot  hear  of  it  without  weeping, 
both  for  sorrow  and  for  shame.'  Then  I  told  her  I  had 
listened  the  night  before  and  suddenly  asked  what  it 
was  that  father  had  said  he  would  do,  although  she 

had  called  it  wanton  and  fiendish.  Dick "  very 

earnestly,  "it  was  as  if  I  had  struck  my  mother  a  blow. 


50  THE    PASSPORT 

She  swayed  and  looked  at  me,  fearfully  frightened. 
Then  she  moaned  and  spoke  but  I  could  not  understand 
as  her  words  were  all  broken  up  by  sobs,  but  I  did 
manage  to  hear  her  say,  'Oh,  it  cannot  be.  It  cannot 
be,  my  child.  It  is  too  horrible!'  More  than  that  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  get  out  of  her." 

He  sat  silent,  gazing,  abstracted,  at  the  beautiful 
girl  whose  face  was  more  beautiful  because  of  her  in- 
tense earnestness.  She,  in  turn,  sat  looking  straight 
at  him.  In  the  mind  of  each  formed  questions,  eager 
questions,  but  which  remained  unframed  in  words. 

"What  did  you  mean  by  saying  there  was  danger,  in 
your  telegram  ?"  finally  asked  the  young  man,  although 
it  was  not  what  had  been  in  his  mind  to  ask  her  at  that 
moment.  "And  why  was  I  to  meet  you  unknown  to 
your  father?  Has  he  taken  a  sudden  dislike  to  me?" 

"The  danger  I  meant,"  said  Mary,  "was  partly  the 
hidden  danger  that  I  feel  is  all  around  us,  after  what 
I  overheard  in  Washington,  and  also  danger  to  you! 
When  we  returned  to  New  York  yesterday,  a  man 
whom  my  father  had  introduced  to  me  before  as  Smith, 
but  whom  I  later  learned  was  a  Max  Schmidt,  a  secret 
agent  of  the  German  Foreign  Office,  was  waiting  for  us. 
I  overheard  some  of  their  conversation — I  am  not  miss- 
ing an  opportunity  to  eavesdrop  now — and  I  heard 
Schmidt  tell  father  that  you  were  doing  something  in 
which  you  should  be  stopped.  At  the  end  of  the  con- 
versation Schmidt  said,  with  a  gesture  that  I  did  not 
like,  that  he  knew  how  to  stop  you.  The  gesture  gave 

me  a  feeling  of  horror,  Dick,  and — and "  there 

were  tears  in  the  girl's  eyes  and  a  sob  in  her  voice,  "and 
I'm  so  ashamed,  so  mortified,  so  frightened,  Dick,  be- 
cause my  father  seemed  to  agree  with  this  horrible  man 
Schmidt." 


THE    PASSPORT  51 

"Tell  me  just  how  this  fellow  Schmidt  looks,  Mary," 
he  said,  suddenly,  straightening  up  in  his  chair.  "I 
want  to  know  him  if  I  should  meet  him." 

"He  is  short  and  rather  stout,"  said  the  girl.  "He 
has  a  very  heavy,  very  dark  mustache,  almost  black, 
and " 

"Aha !"  he  interrupted.  "I  guess  I  know  the  fellow. 
He  followed  me  several  times.  The  last  time  on  Sat- 
urday." 

"And  what  is  it  that  you  are  doing  to  cause  my 
father  and  Schmidt  to  want  to  stop  you,  Dick?"  Mary 
spoke  with  great  earnestness.  "Dick,"  very  earnestly, 
"I  have  always  thought  you  would  do  something  worth 
while  in  the  world.  I  also  know  your  nature,  so  that 
I  am  sure  you  never  could  do  anything  that  you  would 
be  ashamed  of.  I  can,  therefore,  ask  you,  without 
fear  of  hurting  your  feelings,  if  you  want  to  tell  me." 

He  did  not  answer  for  several  moments,  but  sat 
looking  directly  into  the  eyes  of  the  lovely  girl,  as  if 
trying  to  find  an  answer  there  to  a  query  he  did  not 
want  to  give  voice  to.  "I  will  answer  your  question 
by  asking  another,"  he  finally  said.  "You  have  your 
father  and  mother  and  you  love  them  both.  I  love  my 
father  and  the  memory  of  my  mother,  both  of  which 
are  dear  to  me.  Neither  of  us  would  do  anything  to 
hurt  our  own  people  and  I  would  no  more  do  anything 
to  hurt  yours  than  you  would  do  anything  to  hurt 

mine.  I  say  that,  Mary,  because "  he  laid  his 

hand  gently  upon  hers,  "because  I  love  you  dearly. 
This  hardly  seems  the  time,  or  the  place,  for  a  chap  to 
tell  a  girl  he  loves  her  but  I — I  must  tell  you." 

A  slight  pressure  of  the  girl's  other  hand,  as  it  was 
raised  to  cover  his,  a  drooping  of  the  gentle,  express- 
ive eyes  and  a  slight  color  rising  to  the  cheeks,  spoke 


52  THE    PASSPORT 

the  answer  eloquently.  For  the  moment  the  clatter  of 
dishes,  the  shuffling  of  waiters'  feet  and  the  hum  of  sub- 
dued conversation  was  completely  lost  on  these  two  in 
;the  corner  of  the  palm  garden. 

"I  am  doing  something  that  your  father  wants  to 
stop  me  from  doing  although  neither  he  nor  Schmidt 
has  the  slightest  idea  what  it  is.  What  I  am  doing, 
Mary,  will  cause  injury  to  no  one — not  one  single 
person.  It  will,  undoubtedly,  save  many  lives.  What- 
ever it  is  that  your  father  and  Schmidt  are  engaged  in 
must  be  in  connection  with  the  German  government 
and  whatever  the  German  government  is  engaged  in 
doing  means  disaster,  agony  and  death.  You  were  born 
German.  Your  people  are  German.  I  was  born  Amer- 
ican as  was  my  father.  My  mother,  bless  her  sweet 
memory,  was  born  in  Holland,  peaceful  Holland.  What 
I  am  doing  is  in  the  memory  of  my  beloved  mother. 
She  loved  justice  and  she  would  not  have  harmed  the 
smallest  thing  that  had  life  if  she  could  help  it.  I  am 
doing  what  my  mother  would  have  done  were  she  in  my 
place.  Will  you  take  sides  with  me,  for  the  saving  of 
life,  or  with  the  German  cause,  for  the  destruction 
of  it?" 

"Without  knowing  what  it  is  that  you  are  doing  or 
propose  to  do,  I  am  with  you,  with  all  my  heart,  be- 
loved." There  was  a  renewed  pressure  of  her  hand  as 
Mary  spoke  and  the  man  knew  that  he  could  trust  this 
woman  in  every  endeavor  that  he  made,  in  every  step 
that  he  took  to  bring  about  a  realization  of  his  wonder- 
plan  for  the  absolute  abolition  of  brutality — of  which 
war,  to  him,  was  the  very  worst  form. 

"It  would  take  too  long  to  explain  to  you  now,  in 
detail,  all  that  I  propose  to  do,"  he  said.  "We  shall 
leave  that  for  another  time.  I  can  say  this,  dear,  that 


THE    PASSPORT  53 

my  plan,  if  successful,  as  I  think  it  will  be,  will  stop 
the  war  very  soon  after  I  can  reach  Europe." 

"Europe?"  asked  Mary,  with  mingled  surprise  and 
alarm.  "Europe?  Must  you  go  there  and  risk  having 
the  vessel  you  are  on  sunk  by  a  torpedo  ?" 

"That  form  of  brutality  on  the  part  of  the  Germans 
is  one  of  the  things  my  plan  will  stop  forever,  I  hope." 

"But  there  are  things  right  here  that  must  be  pre- 
vented," she  insisted. 

"How  so?" 

"Why,  I  am  very  sure  that  what  father  and  the  man 
Schmidt  are  doing  is  something  dreadful  against  the 
United  States.  There  was  a  Senator — a  German — who 
called  on  father  and  he,  father  and  another  German 
were  talking.  This  German  said  that  whatever  they 
were  discussing  would  be  done  near  Sandy  Hook. 
Father  said  he  was  afraid  they  would  be  found  out. 
The  other  man  insisted  that  was  not  possible  and  the 
Senator  said  the  government  here  was  not  wide-awake 
enough  to  take  any  action  anyway.  Just  what  they 
had  planned  to  do  I  could  not  overhear.  It  was  only 
when  they  began  to  argue  that  they  talked  loud  enough 
for  me  to  hear  what  they  said." 

"In  that  case,"  he  said,  slowly,  "I  shall  defer  my 
trip  to  Europe  until  after  I  have  made  a  trip  to  Wash- 
ington." 

"What  a  strange  thing  that  was  that  happened  in 
Union  Square  last  Saturday,"  said  Mary  as  he  was 
helping  her  with  her  wraps. 

He  smiled.  "Yes,  it  was  strange,  was  it  not?  But 
the  same  thing  will  probably  happen  again,  very  soon." 

"Why,  Richard!  Why  should  it  happen  again 
soon?"  she  asked  incredulously.  "How  do  you  know?" 

"I  will  let  you  know  beforehand  when  it  is  to  hap- 


54  THE    PASSPORT 

pen,"  was  the  reply.  "In  the  meantime,  not  a  word 
to  a  single  soul  on  that  subject.  When  it  is  to  happen 
again  I  will  take  you  with  me  to  see  the  excitement. 
For  the  time  being  I  cannot  tell  you  any  more.  But 
you  have  faith  in  me,  my  beautiful  darling,  have  you 
not?" 

"I  have  felt  terribly  unhappy,  lonesome  and  helpless 
: — until  to-day,"  she  replied,  gently. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE  broad  streets  of  the  National  Capital  reflected 
the  glory  of  a  beautiful  midday  sun  as  he  left  the  rail- 
road station  and  walked  briskly  down  Pennsylvania 
avenue.  Everyone  he  met  seemed  to  feel  the  influence 
of  the  bright  weather.  The  City  Splendid,  named  after 
the  great  arbiter  of  Justice  and  Freedom,  seemed  far 
removed  indeed  from  the  sordid  atmosphere  of  death 
and  devastation  that  covered,  as  a  funeral  shroud,  the 
lands  across  the  seas.  He  felt  a  sense  of  overwhelming 
gratitude  that  this  was  his  country,  his  peaceful,  jus- 
tice-radiating National  Capital. 

He  had  not  gone  far  in  the  direction  of  the  Capitol 
grounds,  when  a  hand  was  laid  on  his  shoulder. 

"Your  name  is  Warden Richard  Warden?" 

He  replied  with  a  "Yes"  about  the  same  instant  that: 
he  turned  at  the  inquiry.  "Why,"  he  said,  as  he  no- 
ticed the  speaker,  "we  have  met  before,  I  believe.  Were 
you  not  on  the  Royal  Blue  to-day — from  New  York?" 

"The  same,"  said  the  stranger,  a  good-looking  man 
of  forty  or  thereabouts.  "I  did  not  want  to  make  a 
scene  on  the  train,  so  I  did  not  introduce  myself."  He 
opened  his  coat,  slightly,  displaying  a  badge.  "Secret 
Service,"  he  said,  briefly.  "I  will  have  to  ask  you  to 
go  with  me.  There  may  not  be  any  trouble  for  you  at 
all  and,  if  everything  is  satisfactory,  you  will  not  be  de- 
tained." The  two  walked  along  slowly. 

"What  is  the  reason  of  my  being  stopped  by  the 
Secret  Service?"  asked  Warden.  He  was  puzzled  but 


56  THE    PASSPORT 

not  at  all  frightened  by  this  unexpected  adventure  with 
the  secret  branch  of  the  government.  His  composure, 
born  of  a  sense  of  innocence  of  any  wrongdoing,  seemed 
to  strike  the  other  man  as  a  show  of  bravado. 

"That's  alright,  young  fellow.  But  we  cannot  take 
any  chances  nowadays.  Seems  you  have  been  acting 
somewhat  mysteriously  around  New  York  and  certain 
information  was  sent  in  to  the  old  man  about  you."  In 
using  the  familiar  title  of  "old  man"  the  operative,  like 
all  his  colleagues,  was  paying  the  Chief  of  the  United 
States  Secret  Service  the  highest  possible  compliment 
and  the  best  proof  of  his  devotion. 

"But  who  would  do  that?" 

"Can't  tell  you.  All  I  know  is  that  I  was  told  to 
follow  and  watch  you." 

"And — and  how  long  have  you  been  doing  it?" 

"Since  I  received  my  instructions,"  was  the  ambig- 
uous reply. 

Persons  who  passed  the  two — through  the  beautiful 
grounds  of  the  Capitol — never  suspected  that  the 
younger  man,  his  mind  alive  with  conjecture  over  this 
most  unexpected  incident  and  with  the  great  plans  he 
had  formulated,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  dreaded  Secret 
Service  and  that  the  older  man  was  practically  his 
captor. 

"I  would  like  to  send  a  telegram  to  my  hotel  asking 
them  to  send  my  valise  by  the  next  train,"  he  said,  af- 
ter a  pause.  "I  brought  nothing  with  me,  intending 
to  return  to  New  York  this  evening  and  my  valise  con- 
tains certain  papers  that  would  assist  materially  in 
clearing  up  any  mystery  concerning  myself." 

"That  won't  be  necessary,"  replied  his  companion. 
"Your  belongings  will  be  at  headquarters  by  the  time 
we  get  there." 


THE    PASSPORT  57 

"Do  you  mean " 

"Yes,  we  took  care  of  all  that.  My  partner  got  all 
your  stuff  from  the  hotel  two  minutes  after  you  left 
there.  He  took  the  same  train  that  we  did." 

"Well,  this  is  interesting,"  he  commented.  "You 
chaps  must  certainly  believe  that  I  am  some  dangerous 
criminal."  They  were  opposite  the  Botanical  Gardens 
at  the  moment.  He  stopped  short  and  turned  around, 
facing  the  government  officer.  That  individual,  mis- 
taking the  motive,  involuntarily  grasped  both  of  the 
young  man's  arms.  "Excuse  the  remark,"  said  War- 
den, looking  with  a  smile  from  one  to  the  other  of  his 
pinioned  arnns,  "but  you  are  making  an  ass  of  yourself, 
old  man."  The  restraining  grip  relaxed.  "Do  you 
know  what  I  am  in  Washington  for?  I  am  here  to  see 
the  Secretary  of  State,  or  the  Secretary  of  War,  or 
the  President  of  the  United  States  or,  even  perhaps 
your  very  own  Secret  Service  people.  Instead  of  do- 
ing anything  wrong  myself  I  have  come  to  Washington 
at  my  own  expense  in  order  to  warn  the  government  of 
a  plot?" 

"And  what  may  that  plot  be?"  asked  the  other. 

"That  will  be  told  to  the  proper  authority,"  he  re- 
plied. "The  sooner  you  bring  me  to  headquarters,  the 
better." 

They  walked  briskly  along  Pennsylvania  Avenue  un- 
til they  came  to  the  Treasury  Department  building, 
where  they  went  up  to  the  offices  of  the  secret  service 
branch.  Warden  was  ushered  into  the  private  room  of 
the  chief  of  the  service.  As  he  and  his  captor  awaited 
the  coming  of  the  latter's  superior,  he  was  astounded 
to  see  another  man  come  into  the  room  carrying  his 
big  valise  and  the  black  camera  box.  He  felt  relieved 
when  he  found  that  this  was  all  that  the  secret  service 


68  THE    PASSPORT 

men  had  secured  at  his  hotel.  Evidently  the  packing 
case  containing  his  fragile  apparatus,  his  tubes,  bot- 
tles and  chemicals,  which  he  had  stored  in  the  checking 
room  of  the  New  York  hostelry,  had  been  forgotten  by 
the  hotel  people  in  this  secret  service  raid.  His  captor 
left  the  room,  leaving  the  other  man  on  guard.  A  mo- 
ment later  he  returned  with  an  important  looking  in- 
dividual who,  Warden  at  once  decided,  was  the  head  of 
the  service, 

When  the  Chief  came  into  the  room  young  Warden 
was  quite  prepared.  The  very  first  question  that  was 
asked  by  that  official  reassured  him. 

"Young  man,  we  have  brought  you  here  on  informa- 
tion that  was  lodged  against  you  in  connection  with 
the  occurrence  in  Union  Square  recently.  You  know 
all  about  that,  of  course?" 

He  nodded  assent. 

"What  was  your  connection  with  that  affair?" 

"I  was  a  spectator." 

"But  you  went  into  a  certain  loft  building  with  a 
camera  box.  Was  it  for  the  purpose  of  taking  pic- 
tures?" 

"It  was,"  he  replied,  after  a  moment's  thought. 

"It  was,  eh?"  thundered  Chief  Rankin.  "Well  then, 
why  is  that  box  so  made  that  you  cannot  take  a  pic- 
ture with  it?"  He  pointed  to  the  large  black  box  with 
the  outer  appearance  of  a  camera  but  which,  when  he 
opened  the  end,  showed  a  perfectly  plain,  smooth  in- 
terior. 

He  looked  at  the  Chief  with  an  amused  smile.  "Par- 
don me,"  he  said,  "but  I  did  not  say  anything  about 
taking  pictures  with  that  box,  did  I?  That  camera 
has  not  been  completed.  Here  is  the  picture  I  took 
that  afternoon."  He  removed  a  wallet  from  his  inside 


THE    PASSPORT  59 

coat  pocket  and  extracted  therefrom  a  small  photo- 
graph. "You  see,  this  picture  shows  plainly  that  it 
was  taken  from  a  height  directly  above  the  crowd  at 
the  exact  time  that  the  trouble  occurred.  As  I  hap- 
pened to  be,  in  all  probability,  the  only  one  taking  a 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  crowd  at  the  time,  you  can  be 
reasonably  sure  that  this  is  the  picture  I  took." 

"But  you  were  seen  holding  this  large  camera  box, 
which  hasn't  any  lens  in  it,  out  of  the  window  on  the 
top  floor  of  the  building,"  persisted  the  Chief.  Warden 
simulated  surprise — then  amusement. 

"Since  that  unfinished  camera  could  not  take  a  pic- 
ture and  since  I  am  showing  you  an  actual  bird's-eye 
view  of  the  scene,  it  would  appear  that  I  did  not  use 
that  box  to  take  pictures,  now  wouldn't  it?" 

Chief  Rankin  did  not  make  any  reply.  He  eyed  the 
young  man  for  some  time  with  an  incredulous  express- 
ion on  his  face.  Then  he  went  to  the  valise  and  took 
from  it  a  peculiar  mask. 

"What  is  this?"  he  asked  sharply. 

"A  face  mask." 

"What  do  you  use  it  for?" 

"I  am  a  chemist  and  use  it  when  working  with  volatile 
chemicals.  It — it  prevents  headaches." 

"Why  did  you  use  it  when  you  were "  sneeringly, 

"talcing  pictures  out  of  that  window?" 

"I  an;  subject  to  dizziness  when  at  any  great  height. 
If  you  wiii  allow  me  to  arrange  it  on  your  face  you 
will  find  in  it  a  refreshing  and  exhilarating  odor  as  }rou 
breathe  through  it.  Nothing  harmful,  I  assure  you. 
This  antidote  for  dizziness  is  my  own  discovery.  I 
hope  some  day  to  see  it  used  by  those  following  danger- 
ous callings  at  great  heights,  such  as  ironworkers, 
steeplejacks,  painters,  etc.  It  would  not  be  a  bad 


60  THE    PASSPORT 

thing  for  secret  service  agents  to  have  masks  of  this 
sort  when  on  some  of  their  dangerous  missions." 

"One  more  thing,"  said  the  Chief,  ignoring  the  offer 
to  try  the  mask  on  himself.  "Why  did  you  tell  the 
police  officer  after  you  left  the  building  that  you  had 
not  seen  the  occurrence  in  the  Square  when,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  you  did  see  everything?" 

Warden  looked  at  his  inquisitor  for  a  moment  in 
blank  wonder  at  this  apparently  accurate  recital  of  his 
doings  that  Saturday  afternoon.  He  recovered  him- 
self almost  immediately,  however,  and  answered  in  a 
tone  of  absolute  assurance. 

"Because  I  did  not  want  to  get  into  any  newspaper 
notoriety.  There  is  a  reporter  on  the  heels  of  every 
police  officer  in  a  case  of  that  kind  and  I  did  not  care 
to  be  mixed  up  in  the  affair.  My  father  is  Professor 
Warden,  well  known  in  the  scientific  world,  and  I  did 
not  think  I  had  the  right  to  court  needless  publicity 
for  the  family. 

The  Chief  paced  up  and  down  the  room  several  times 
without  speaking.  His  two  subordinates  remained  at 
their  posts  close  to  the  chair  in  which  Warden  was 
seated.  Then  Chief  Rankin  looked  at  them,  several 
times,  as  if  he  was  about  to  ask  their  opinions  but  each 
time  he  seemed  to  change  his  mind.  Finally  he  stepped 
in  front  of  Warden. 

"That  will  be  all.  You  can  go,"  he  said  slowly.  He 
waved  his  hands  at  his  two  subordinates,  who  retired 
to  an  adjoining  room.  The  Chief  seated  himself  at  his 
big,  flat-top  desk.  "Sorry  to  have  disturbed  you, 
young  man."  Warden  rose  from  his  chair  to  arrange 
his  belongings  while  the  Chief  busied  himself  with  pa- 
pers on  his  desk.  Suddenly  the  latter  wheeled  about  in 
his  chair.  "What  was  that  you  said  to  my  operative, 


THE    PASSPORT  61 

that  you  liad  come  to  Washington  on  business  with  the 
government  ?" 

"Quite  right,"  replied  young  Warden.  "As  I  am 
here,  I  might  as  well  tell  you  all  about  it,  the  more  so 
since  it  is  a  matter  that  will  be  referred  to  your  depart- 
ment, anyway."  He  went  back  to  the  chair  that  he 
had  occupied  before  but  ^vhich  now  he  drew  up  close  to 
Chief  Rankin's  desk,  with  a  confident  air,  and  seated 
himself  like  a  comrade — not  like  a  prisoner. 

"In  the  first  place,  Chief,"  he  began,  "I  will  go  back 
to  the  events  of  that  Saturday  afternoon.  I  want  to 
prove  to  you  that  I  am  a  good  citizen,  that  I  have  done 
nothing  to  be  ashamed  of  and  that  I  have  nothing  to 
fear  from  the  officials  of  my  own  glorious  country. 
Since  you  have  questioned  me  and  have  told  me  I  was 
free  to  go  where  I  pleased,  since  you  have  learned  noth- 
ing from  me  that  could  in  any  way  be  construed  as 
having  been  dragged  out  of  me  under  fear  of  the  law, 
I  am  going  to  tell  you  all  that  really  happened  in  Un- 
ion Square  last  Saturday  afternoon,  what  the  real  pur- 
pose was  of  my  presence  there !" 

Chief  Rankin  looked  dumfounded. 

"You  mean  that " 

"I  mean  that  I  was  at  Union  Square  for  a  purpose 
which  was  not  the  taking  of  photographs — although  I 
did,  quite  incidentally,  take  a  picture.  Furthermore,  I 
knew — or,  rather,  I  hoped  that  I  knew — what  would 
happen  in  the  Square  before  I  got  there  and  which  ac- 
tually did  happen.  That  mask  you  asked  about  and 
the  ingredients  used  in  it  will  prevent  dizziness  at  great 
heights — but  that  was  not  he  primary  incentive  to  its 
discovery.  I  did  hold  that  camera  box  out  of  the  win- 
dow— although  not  to  take  pictures.  The  picture, 
taken  with  this  little  thing  here,"  he  took  from  his  vest 


62  THE    PASSPORT 

pocket  a  tiny  photographic  apparatus,  "was  merely  an 
afterthought." 

The  secret  service  man  sat  perfectly  immovable, 
seemingly  fascinated  and  eyeing  the  young  man  with 
frank  amazement. 

"I  do  not  intend  that  what  I  am  going  to  tell  you 
shall  be  told  to  anyone  except  to  you  and  possibly  to 
one  of  your  most  trusted  men  whom  you  are  to  be  pre- 
pared to  assign  as  my  companion  on  a  similar  expedi- 
tion as  that  which  took  me  to  the  ^anarchist  meeting 
that  Saturday  afternoon.  And  now  as  to  the  informa- 
tion that  was  lodged  against  me.  That  was  anony- 
mous, was  it  not?" 

"I  am  not  prepared  to  say,"  said  the  Chief,  rather 
huskily. 

"Be  as  candid  with  me  as  I  am  with  you,  please. 
We  are  both  working  to  the  same  end — for  law  and 
order." 

"Well  yes,  it  was  anonymous,"  finally  said  the  Chief, 
somewhat  helplessly  but,  at  the  same  time,  very  evi- 
dently impressed  with  the  young  man's  earnestness. 
"But  what  made  you  think  it  was  ?" 

"I  did  not  think.  I  knew  it  could  not  be  otherwise. 
The  man  who  sent  you  that  anonymous  information 
was  very  likely  on  the  train  with  your  operatives  and 
myself.  He  is  very  likely  standing  outside  on  the  street 
at  this  moment,  watching  whether  I  am  allowed  to  leave 
or  not.  Chief,  that  man  and  those  he  represents  are 
the  only  ones  interested  in  having  me  put  away  some- 
where so  that  I  shall  not  interfere  with  their  plans." 

"Do  you  know  him?"  asked  Chief  Rankin. 

"Never  was  introduced  but  I  think  I  would  know  him 
if  I  met  him.  He  goes  as  Smith,  real  name  Schmidt, 
and  he  is  a  dangerous  German  spy !" 


THE    PASSPORT  63 

"A  German  spy !  But  we  are  not  interested  in  Ger- 
man spies  over  here.  We  cannot  prevent  them  spying 
on  British,  French  or  Belgian  or  any  other  foreign 
interests,  as  long  as  they  don't  break  American  laws." 

"Surely  not.  But  it  so  happens  that  this  fellow 
Schmidt  and  his  gang  are  not  spying  on  either  Great 
Britain,  France  or  Belgium.  They  are  spying  on  the 
United  States,  Chief,  and  there  is  a  plot  on  foot — I  do 
not  know  what  it  is — that  is  to  affect  this  country,  our 
country,  and  in  some  terrible  manner.  That  much  I 
have  learned  and  it  is  that  plot  that  brought  me  to 
Washington." 

The  Chief  jumped  to  his  feet. 

"Very  well,"  he  said,  recovering  himself  from  the 
state  of  intense  amazement  with  which  he  had  received 
the  information.  "We  will  go  to  one  of  the  govern- 
ment offices  where  you  can  tell  your  story  in  detail  to 
another  man  and  to  me  at  one  sitting." 

"Before  we  leave  this  building,"  said  Warden,  "I 
would  suggest  that  you  instruct  one  of  your  men  to 
follow  us  at  a  good  distance  to  see  if  a  man  with  a 
heavy  dark  mustache,  rather  short  and  stout,  does  not 
follow  you  and  me.  If  there  is  such  a  one,  it  will  be 
a  very  good  idea  to  keep  an  eye  on  him  for  the  next 
few  days." 

"A  very  good  idea."  Chief  Rankin  pressed  a  button. 
"Send  Leighton  here,"  he  said  to  the  man  who  answered 
his  summons. 

In  Leighton,  Warden  saw  a  square-shouldered,  erect 
man  of  forty  or  forty-five,  good-looking  almost  to  the 
point  of  being  considered  handsome,  with  a  black  mus- 
tache carefully  cropped  and  dressed  like  a  prosperous 
professional  man,  in  excellent  good  taste.  No  one 
would  ever  have  taken  Leighton  for  a  government 


64  THE    PASSPORT 

Vidocq.  He  would  have  appeared  perfectly  in  place 
equally  well  at  his  desk  in  a  bank  president's  office  as 
in  the  office  of  the  American  secret  police  and  there 
was  a  certain  debonnaire  attribute  to  his  personality 
that  would  lend  itself  splendidly  to  either  an  afternoon 
tea  or  an  evening  society  function.  Involuntarily  he 
compared  Leighton  with  himself  and  was  conscious  of 
a  feeling  that  he  and  Leighton  would  get  on  well  to- 
gether. Leighton,  while  receiving  his  instructions — 
which  included  orders  for  him  and  another  operative 
to  follow  the  chief  and  Warden  with  a  view  to  "spot- 
ting" a  possible  "shadow" — felt  unconsciously  attracted 
to  young  Warden. 

"I  want  you  to  meet  Mr.  Warden,  Bob,"  said  the 
Chief.  "Warden,  this  is  Leighton,  my  chief  operative." 
Then,  as  they  shook  hands,  "You  two  may  be  thrown 
in  close  contact  for  a  time  if  what  this  young  man  tells 
me  proves  as  big  a  job  as  it  looks  now,"  he  added,  look- 
ing at  his  subordinate.  "You  trail  us,  Bob,  with  a 
couple  of  others.  If  you  spot  a  shadow,  let  the  two 
other  men  keep  on  his  track  and  not  lose  him.  You 
follow  Warden  and  me  to  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  and  come  in  after  us  as  I  will  want  you  to  hear 
all  that  is  said." 

Down  Pennsylvania  Avenue  the  Chief  and  Warden 
walked  slowly.  As  they  passed  the  grounds  of  the 
Executive  Mansion  a  short,  stout  man  who,  however, 
had  no  mustache,  fell  in  two  hundred  feet  behind  them. 
At  the  same  moment  Leighton  and  his  partners  emerged 
from  the  building  and  headed  westward  also.  One 
of  Leighton's  companions  hurried  forward,  passed 
the  short,  thick-set  individual,  crossed  the  avenue  and 
re-crossed  as  Leighton  came  opposite  to  him  on  the 
other  side  of  the  thoroughfare. 


THE    PASSPORT  65 

"Mustache  freshly  shaven  off,"  was  all  the  com- 
ment he  made  to  Leighton. 

"Very  well,  Pierce,"  was  the  reply.  "You  and  Mos- 
ser  keep  on  his  trail,  as  the  Chief  said.  That's  our 
man  alright." 

Warden  and  the  Chief  entered  the  building  in  which 
were  the  State  Department  offices.  Leighton,  drop- 
ping his  companions,  followed  them  in.  A  little  dis- 
tance away  but  in  view  of  the  entrance,  stood  the 
smooth-shaven  stranger  and,  watching  him,  Pierce  and 
Mosser  took  up  their  posts  across  the  street,  evidently 
expecting  a  passenger  from  every  street  car  that 
passed  the  corner. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE  little  railroad  station  of  Redfield  lay  nestled 
against  a  clump  of  dense  Jersey  woods.  Few  pas- 
sengers ever  bothered  the  station  agent  there  and 
the  only  discordant  notes  in  the  quiet  solitude  of  the 
place  were  the  shrieking  whistles  of  the  trains  that 
dashed  by.  Two  trains  daily,  each  way,  hesitated  long 
enough  to  stop  at  the  little  station  on  the  border  of  the 
woods. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  railroad  track,  far  enough 
from  the  station  not  to  be  observed,  yet  near  enough 
to  see  everything  that  was  going  on  there,  a  stranger, 
wearing  a  leather  coat  and  leggings,  sat  in  the  shadow 
of  some  bushes.  Soon  a  warning  whistle  blew  and 
around  a  bend  in  the  roadbed  a  big  puff  of  black  soot 
sent  skyward  told  of  the  approaching  arrival  of  the 
last  train  from  the  city.  In  the  case  of  Redfield  this 
"last  train"  did  not  signify  the  passing  of  another  day, 
for  the  sun  was  at  its  highest  in  the  heavens  and  many 
more  trains  would  come  around  the  bend — but  not  to 
stop  at  Redfield. 

As  the  grimy  locomotive,  a  coach  and  combination 
"smoker"  and  baggage  car  brought  up  with  a  grunt 
and  a  jerk,  a  man  swung  off  the  coach  on  the  side  oppo- 
site the  station  while  on  the  station  side  a  girl,  attrac- 
tive in  face,  figure  and  dress,  stepped  down  to  the  plat- 
form. Hardly  had  the  train  begun  to  move  again  when 
a  motor  car,  containing,  besides  the  chauffeur,  three 
men  in  the  tonneau,  stopped  on  the  road  side  of  the 


THE    PASSPORT  67 

platform.  One  of  the  trio  jumped  lightly  from  the 
automobile  and  crossed  the  platform  to  where  the  girl 
was  standing. 

"I  am  happy  that  you  have  come,  dear,"  he  said,  as 
he  reached  her  side.  "You  were  not  followed?" 

"Not  a  bit  of  it,  Dick.  I  was  the  only  passenger 
for  this  lonely  little  place,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able 
to  see." 

"Fine.  Now  to  introduce  you  to  the  representatives 
of  the  law !  Then  we  shall  be  on  our  way  to  where  there 
will  be  plenty  of  trouble." 

"And  I  am  to  see — it  happen?" 

"If  it  happens,  you  will  see  it,"  hie  answered.  "And 
I  think  it  will  happen,"  he  added,  smilingly. 

Chief  Rankin  and  Bob  Leighton  were  presented  to 
Mary  Berwin  and  the  party  was  soon  flying  over  the 
road  to  Pemberton,  some  ten  miles  away.  The  Chief 
had  not  taken  Miss  Berwin's  joining  the  expedition  to 
Pemberton  with  very  good  grace.  He  was  inclined  to 
look  upon  the  inclusion  of  a  woman  in  an  adventure  of 
such  importance  as  ill-advised.  Warden,  however,  had 
told  him  that  Mary  had  been  promised  a  personal  view 
of  the  very  next  "demonstration"  and  as  this  would 
probably  be  the  last  one  for  some  time  to  come,  the 
Chief  had  acquiesced  grudgingly.  Had  Mr.  Rankin 
known  that  Mary's  father  was  one  of  the  coterie  that 
his  men  were  now  actively  looking  up,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  he  would  have  been  much  at  ease  on  the  ride  to 
Pemberton. 

Another  incident  that  would,  undeniably,  have  con- 
tributed to  the  Chief's  disquiet  occurred  immediately 
after  the  departure  of  the  motor  car  from  Redfield. 
The  man  who  had  swung  from  the  off  side  of  the  train 
made  his  way  quickly  along  the  track  to  the  edge  of 


68  THE    PASSPORT 

the  woods  where  the  lounging  stranger  was  still  sitting 
in  the  shadow  of  the  bushes.  The  newcomer  was  a 
short,  stout  man  without  any  particular  distinguishing 
features.  He  hailed  the  lounger  before  he  came  up  to 
him  and  was  hailed  in  return. 

"Wie  gehts?"  shouted  the  lounger. 

"Wie  gewohnlich,"  shouted  the  other,  with  a  gesture. 

The  two  conversed  in  German,  very  earnestly. 

"So  she  came  here  all  right,  eh,  Max?"  said  the 
lounger. 

"Of  course  she  did,"  replied  Schmidt.  "Mosser  had 
the  right  tip.  He  will  be  able  to  keep  tab  on  every 
move  they  make.  It's  a  mighty  good  thing  we've  got 
a  man  in  the  secret  service." 

"Let's  be  off,  then,"  suggested  the  first  man.  "We 
can  make  a  short  cut  and  get  there  as  soon  as  the 
others.  I've  got  the  motor  cycle  all  ready,  with  an 
extra  coat  and  leggings  for  you,  which  will  change 
your  appearance." 

Shortly  after,  with  Max  Schmidt  in  his  new  accou- 
trements, they  were  speeding  along  a  road  which, 
although  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  railroad  track 
from  that  taken  by  the  automobile,  also  led  to  Pem- 
berton. 

The  silk  mill  of  Petrie  and  Company  in  Pemberton 
was  a  pretentious  structure,  facing  the  County  Court 
House — a  court  house  with  a  surrounding  green  typi- 
cal of  American  county  seats.  There  was  a  wide  space 
in  front  of  the  mill — between  it  and  the  building  where 
country  justice  was  dispensed  with  more  or  less  dig- 
nity— and  as  it  formed  the  geographical  center  of  the 
town,  there  never  was  a  lack  of  human  presence  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  factory,  even  outside  of  its  own  seven 
hundred  odd  workers, 


THE    PASSPORT  69 

Petrie  and  Company  employed  much  alien  labor — 
the  class  which,  rightly  or  wrongly,  with  cause  or  with- 
out, can  easily  be  swayed  by  a  professional  discontent. 
Petrie  and  Company — and  Pemberton — having  a  clean 
slate  so  far  as  labor  difficulties  were  concerned,  offered 
a  splendid  opportunity  for  those  professional  malcon- 
tents known  as  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World 
to  add  new  laurels  to  their  record  as  promoters  of 
disorder  and  lawlessness. 

The  agitators,  therefore,  had  let  it  be  widely  known 
that  Petrie  and  Company's  employes  were  being 
worked  on  starvation  wages — although  each  of  the 
seven  hundred  and  odd  men  and  women  in  the  mill  lived 
in  a  clean,  healthy  abode  and  none  owed  a  penny  of 
debt  in  Pemberton.  The  agitators  promulgated  the 
news  that  Petrie  and  Company's  employes  would  make 
a  demonstration  on  this  particular  day  which  would 
show  the  cruel  bosses  that  the  "weak  and  downtrod- 
den" in  Pemberton  could  rise  in  their  might  when  the 
necessity  presented  itself.  This,  in  the  face  of  the  fact 
that  the  Petrie  employes  were  thoroughly  satisfied  with 
their  quiet  and  industrious  existence  and  had  seen  no 
necessity  to  "rise  in  their  might" — except  to  go  to 
luncheon  for  which  mid-day  recreation  they  were 
allowed  a  full  hour.  As  most  of  the  employes  used 
their  lunch  hour  for  a  stroll  over  the  Court  House 
green,  the  I.  W.  W.  had  very  thoughtfully  selected 
the  latter  half  of  the  recess  hour  for  their  "benevo- 
lent" intrusion. 

Pemberton,  as  well  as  Petrie  and  Company,  voiced 
natural  indignation  at  this  threatened  vandalism  and 
would  gladly  have  knocked  the  I.  W.  W.  ambitions  into 
a  cocked  hat  had  it  been  physically  able  to  do  so.  As 
the  local  military  defenses  consisted  solely  of  two  un- 


70  THE    PASSPORT 

uniformed  constables  and  a  volunteer  fire  hose  com- 
pany— the  latter  without  any  high-pressure  water 
system  at  its  disposal — all  that  Pemberton  could  do 
was  to  watch  with  impotent  rage  the  disembarkation 
of  a  hundred  and  some  odd  frowsy,  unkempt,  ill-smell- 
ing ruffians  from  the  twelve-twenty  p.m.  train  from 
New  York. 

About  the  same  time  that  this  sinister  mob  walked 
through  Pemberton's  main  street,  from  the  railroad 
station  to  the  center  of  the  town,  an  automobile  was 
violating  the  speed  regulations  of  the  rural  environs 
on  the  road  from  Redfield  to  Pemberton,  via  Eagle 
Rock.  And — also  at  about  the  same  time — a  motor 
cycle  with  two  men  bent  over  forward  so  far  that  they 
could  not  have  seen  anything  in  their  path,  was  choking 
off  the  imprecations  of  local  constables  in  clouds  of 
dust  along  the  road  from  Redfield  to  Pemberton,  via 
the  Old  Mill.  Through  the  exact,  although  mysteri- 
ous working  of  Fate,  the  mob,  the  automobile  and  the 
motor  cycle  all  reached  the  County  Court  House  square 
at  the  same  psychological  moment. 

While  confident  enough  of  the  efficacy  of  his  plan, 
Warden  was  not  so  sure  that  he  could  carry  it  to  a 
successful  issue  without  causing  the  innocent  Pember- 
tonians  as  much  personal  discomfiture  as  those  who 
so  richly  deserved  it.  How  to  bring  his  own  demon- 
stration to  bear  upon  that  of  the  I.  W.  W.  without 
affecting  the  serenity  of  the  entire  Pemberton  popula- 
tion was  a  momentary  puzzle  to  the  young  man. 

The  local  population,  however,  seemed  to  be  shy  of 
the  newcomers  and  the  latter  found  themselves  grouped 
in  a  crowd,  somewhat  isolated,  in  the  middle  of  the 
street  in  front  of  the  Petrie  mill. 


THE    PASSPORT  71 

Warden  sprang  from  the  touring  car,  which  had 
remained  at  some  distance  from  the  scene. 

"Remember,  now,  what  I  told  you,"  he  urged.  "The 
very  instant  you  see  me  leaning  out  of  the  window, 
all  of  you  adjust  your  masks  quickly.  Do  not  remove 
them  until  you  see  me  coming  back  to  you."  With 
that  he  walked  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  the  factory, 
carrying  his  black  camera  box  tucked  securely  under 
his  arm. 

At  the  mill  entrance  there  was  some  hesitancy  over 
his  being  admitted  on  his  plea  that  he  desired  to  take 
photographs  of  the  demonstration  in  the  street  from 
an  upper  window.  When  he  displayed  a  secret  service 
badge — loaned  him  by  Leighton — all  objections  were 
speedily  overcome. 

Five  minutes  later  Chief  Rankin,  Leighton,  Mary 
and  the  chauffeur  saw  a  window  on  the  top  floor  of 
the  silk  mill  being  opened.  The  quartet  in  the  auto- 
mobile quickly  adjusted  their  masks,  to  the  wonder  of 
several  open-mouthed  junior  Pembertonians,  who  gazed 
at  them  with  unfeigned  curiosity. 

Through  his  field  glasses  Chief  Rankin  saw  young 
Warden,  who  had  also  adjusted  his  mask,  open  the 
"dummy"  front  of  the  "camera,"  carefully  extract 
from  within  the  box  a  blue  balloon  about  seven  or 
eight  inches  in  diameter,  to  which  was  attached,  by 
means  of  a  bit  of  string,  a  small  weight.  The  words 
DOWN  WITH  THE  I.W.W.,  painted  in  white  letters, 
were  on  the  blue  surface  of  the  little  balloon.  Then  the 
Chief  saw  it  thrown  to  the  mob  in  the  street.  Yells 
of  derision  and  anger  came  from  below  as  the  balloon 
sailed  slowly  downward  and  the  agitators  saw  the 
white  lettering.  Those  over  whose  heads  it  came 


72  THE    PASSPORT 

grasped  at  it.  One  man  swung  a  stick  at  the  globe 
of  blue.  It  burst  under  the  blow  and  then — — 
Pemberton  will  never  forget  the  day! 
By  strange  good  luck  the  Petrie  and  Company  work- 
ers were  grouped  at  a  goodly  distance  from  the  alien 
mob  which  had  been  shouting  in  front  of  their  factory. 
This  circumstance  saved  most  of  them  from  an  un- 
pleasant— if  harmless — experience  and  prevented  those 
nearest  to  the  crowd  of  agitators  who  were  not  spared 
the  experience  from  falling  amid  the  dirty,  unwashed 
beings  that  littered  the  place  in  the  middle  of  the 
street. 

The  situation  completely  upset  Pemberton. 
Only  one  of  the  town's  two  constables  remained  able 
to  attend  to  the  town's  police  business.     The  other  was 
lying  comfortably  on  the  green  as  if  in  untroubled 
slumber. 

The  residents  of  the  place  were  entirely  unable  to 
grasp  the  significance  of  it  all. 

When  the  crowd  of  agitators  suddenly  collapsed, 
en  masse,  for  no  apparent  reason,  those  of  the  villagers 
who  had  been  grouped  on  the  green  stood  looking  at 
the  senseless  pile  of  humanity  in  dumb  astonishment. 
Their  amazement  was  intensified  when  they  saw  sev- 
eral of  their  own  people  reel  and  sink  to  the  ground, 
and  it  was  to  them  that  the  active  villagers  first  gave 
attention.  Finding  that  their  friends  were,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  sleeping  gently  with  no  sign  of 
fatal  seizure  or  physical  attack  about  them,  the  surviv- 
ing villagers  were  totally  nonplussed.  Then  several 
bethought  themselves  of  the  telephone  and  made  a  dash 
for  the  general  store  close  by,  where  that  important, 
if  irritating  means  of  communication,  had  its  place  of 
honor. 


THE    PASSPORT  73 

The  automobile  in  which  sat  or,  rather,  stood  the 
secret  service  men,  Mary  and  the  chauffeur,  was  by 
this  time  unnoticed  since  all  Pemberton  had  made  its 
way — although  remaining  at  a  respectful  distance — 
to  the  spot  where  the  I.  W.  W.  demonstrators  lay 
prostrate  in  the  street. 

"There  comes  Dick  now,"  spoke  Rankin,  turning 
to  his  assistant.  "He  has  his  mask  off  so  we  might 
as  well  discard  our  smelling  salts,  too,  and  be  ready 
for  a  quick  get-away." 

He  again  levelled  his  glasses,  then  dropped  them  on 
the  seat  in  the  tonneau,  at  the  same  time  leaping  from 
the  car. 

"Quick,  Bob,  quick!"  he  shouted  as  he  started  on  a 
dead  run  towards  the  Petrie  factory. 

Leighton,  thoroughly  trained,  did  not  stop  to  look 
or  to  ask,  but,  throwing  aside  his  linen  duster,  jumped 
after  his  chief,  shouting  to  the  chauffeur  to  remain 
where  he  was  and  look  after  the  girl. 

Having  reached  the  ground  floor,  after  having  seen 
from  the  window  several  of  the  Pembertonians  run, 
unharmed,  to  the  stricken  anarchists,  Warden  knew  it 
was  safe  to  remove  his  mask,  and  he  did  so.  As  he 
reached  the  street  he  started  to  make  his  way  toward 
where  he  had  left  his  party,  stepping  over  many  of 
those  who  had  fallen  immediately  in  front  of  the  fac- 
tory entrance.  He  had  not  walked  a  hundred  feet 
and  had  just  reached  a  narrow  lane  leading  from  the 
Court  House  green  through  the  back  of  the  village, 
when  two  men  jumped  out  from  around  the  corner  of 
the  street  and  lane.  One  of  them,  with  a  stout  stick, 
struck  him  viciously  on  the  head.  The  blow,  broken 
somewhat  by  the  stiff  felt  hat  he  was  wearing,  stunned 
him  and  he  fell  in  a  heap,  his  camera  case  beneath  him, 


74  THE    PASSPORT 

It  was  at  the  moment  that  the  blow  was  struck  that 
Chief  Rankin  had  dropped  his  glasses  and  jumped 
from  the  car.  The  chief,  followed  closely  by  Leighton, 
was  upon  the  assailants  just  as  one  of  the  latter  was 
getting  away  with  the  camera  box. 

The  Chief  drew  his  revolver  and  fired  at  the  two 
fleeing  men,  causing  the  one  carrying  the  camera  box 
to  drop  it.  Then  both  fugitives  turned  back  of  a 
house.  When  Rankin  reached  this  turn— Leighton 
having  remained  behind  with  Warden — he  saw  the  two 
men  moving  away  on  a  motor  cycle  about  two  hundred 
yards  distant.  He  watched  them  for  an  instant  as 
they  sped  along,  almost  out  of  sight,  when  suddenly 
something  appeared  to  have  gone  wrong  with  their 
machine  and  both  fugitives  dismounted,  Rankin  seeing 
them  indistinctly  huddled  in  the  road.  He  ran  back, 
passed  Leighton  and  Warden — the  latter  now  con- 
scious but  dazed — and  sprinted  to  the  Court  House 
green,  where  he  signalled  to  the  chauffeur  to  hurry 
to  him  with  the  automobile.  Some  of  the  Pemberton- 
ians,  attracted  by  the  assault  and  the  shooting,  showed 
a  desire  to  interfere  with  him,  but  Rankin  showed  them 
a  gold  badge  and  they  quickly  subsided. 

A  few  moments  later  the  party  was  taking  up  the 
pursuit  of  the  escaping  cyclists.  Coming  into  the 
road  where  Rankin  had  last  seen  them,  a  speck  was 
made  out  in  the  distance  which,  Rankin  and  the  others 
felt  sure,  were  the  fleeing  assailants  on  their  wheel 
again. 

"Put  on  every  bit  of  power  you've  got,"  ordered 
the  Chief.  Then  he  attached  his  badge  prominently 
on  the  outside  of  his  coat  while  Leighton,  similarly 
arranging  his  own,  crawled  to  the  running  board  and 
clung  to  the  outside  of  the  car,  a  revolver  in  his  free 


THE    PASSPORT  75 

hand,  in  order  to  instantly  impress  any  country  con- 
stable who  might  be  tempted  to  dispute  the  right  of 
the  party  to  move  through  New  Jersey  at  more  than 
express  train  speed. 

The  chase  did  not  lead  back  over  the  same  road 
over  which  Warden  and  his  friends  had  come  to  Pem- 
berton.  It  lay  through  miles  upon  miles  of  open 
country,  then  through  several  villages,  the  identity  of 
only  one  of  which  could  be  made  out  because  the  car 
went  through  them  so  fast  that  there  was  no  oppor- 
tunity to  ask  any  questions.  The  name  of  this  one 
place,  prominently  shown  on  the  front  of  its  post  office, 
indicated  that  the  pursuit  led  away  from  instead  of 
back  to  New  York. 

Had  an  obstacle  appeared  in  the  road,  in  the  shape 
of  a  human,  a  horse,  a  cow  or  a  vehicle,  nothing  could 
have  averted  a  catastrophe.  At  the  rate  the  pursuing 
auto  raced  along,  the  slightest  deviation  from  its 
straight  course  would  have  wrecked  it. 

Every  now  and  then  the  men  on  the  motor  cycle 
came  into  view  where  the  road  lay  clear  ahead  for 
several  miles,  and  it  seemed  to  Rankin  and  the  others 
that  they  were  steadily  gaining  on  the  fugitives. 

Finally  the  distance  between  pursued  and  pursuers 
narrowed  down  to  about  four  hundred  yards  along  a 
straightaway  stretch  on  a  down  grade. 

Rankin  tried  a  shot,  more  with  the  idea  of  possibly 
frightening  the  cyclists  into  stopping  and  surrender- 
ing than  with  the  hope  of  reaching  them  with  a  bullet. 

The  only  effect  was,  a  moment  later,  when  a  puff 
of  smoke  was  seen,  a  faint  crack,  which  showed  that 
the  pair  on  the  cycle  had  acknowledged  the  salute  in 
kind. 

With  less  than  four  hundred  yards  between  them, 


76  THE    PASSPORT 

and  making  ready  for  the  pistol  duel  that  seemed  to 
be  inevitably  at  hand,  Rankin  and  the  others  in  the 
car  suddenly  heard  the  warning  gong  of  a  railroad 
crossing.  Then  a  danger  sign  was  seen  at  the  side  of 
the  road.  The  motor  cycle  dashed  over  the  crossing, 
and  Rankin  was  just  muttering  grimly  into  the  chauf- 
feur's ears,  "We'll  take  that  chance,  too !"  when  a 
freight  train  came  through  a  cut  in  the  road  and 
effectually  blocked  further  pursuit. 

Mechanically   each   of   the   five   in   the    automobile 
counted  the  cars  in  that  lumbering,  slowly-moving  pile. 
Thirteen — fourteen — fifteen — sixteen! 
Rankin   thought    they   would   never    move    by    this 
crossing. 

Thirty-seven — thirty -eight — thirty-nine — forty  — • 
forty-one — forty-two ! 

By  this  time  the  motor  cycle  had  undoubtedly  made 
good  its  escape. 

Forty  -  three — forty  -  four — forty-  five — forty  -  six ! 
The  "sound"  of  the  freight  seemed  to  indicate  it  was 
nearing  its  end  at  that  crossing.  Forty-seven — forty- 
eight — forty-nine — fifty — fifty-one,  the  caboose! 

"Keep  your  eye  on  the  road  for  the  track  of  the 
wheel,  Bob,"  instructed  the  Chief,  as  the  automobile 
shot  over  the  rails,  the  engine  having  been  kept  going 
at  full  speed  while  the  car  stood  still  waiting  for  the 
freight  to  pass.  "We  may  be  able  to  trace  them  that 
way  if  their  track  remains  as  plain  as  it  is  now." 

The  race  along  the  road  was  continued  with  slightly 
diminished  speed  so  as  to  allow  Leighton,  who  had 
taken  a  seat  alongside  the  chauffeur,  to  watch  the  im- 
print of  the  fugitive  cycle's  tire  in  the  mud. 

Several  miles  were  travelled  in  this  manner  when 
those  in  the  car  became  suddenly  aware  that  they  were 


THE    PASSPORT  77 

approaching  salt  water.  There  was  the  unmistakable 
smell  of  brine  in  the  air.  The  country,  too,  had 
changed  from  rolling,  inland  pastures  and  vegetable 
plots  to  a  scrubby,  sandy  waste. 

Leighton,  who  had  not  uttered  a  word  as  he  leaned 
forward  with  his  face  close  to  the  glass  shield  of  the 
car,  suddenly  put  up  his  right  hand  as  a  sign  for  the 
chauffeur  to  slow  down. 

"Ho!"  he  ordered  finally.  The  car  stopped  with  a 
jolt. 

Leighton  leaped  from  the  machine  and  inspected  the 
roadbed. 

From  the  center  of  the  road,  where  the  track  of  the 
cycle  wheel  had  last  been  seen,  he  walked  back  some 
twenty  feet,  closely  examining  the  ground  as  he  moved 
along. 

Chief  Rankin  and  the  others  turned  in  their  seats 
to  watch  him  and  saw  the  operative  mount  the  em- 
bankment at  a  point  about  twenty-five  feet  back  of 
where  the  car  had  stopped.  After  a  few  minutes  spent 
in  examining  the  ground  on  the  ridge  he  returned  to 
the  automobile. 

"That  motor  cycle  left  the  road  there,"  said  Leigh- 
ton,  pointing  to  the  spot  from  where  he  had  started 
his  climb  of  the  embankment.  "On  the  top  there  is  no 
sign  of  a  wheel,  although  there  is  every  evidence  that 
the  motor  cycle  was  either  pushed  or  carried  to  the 
top  of  the  embankment.  There  are  a  great  many  foot- 
prints up  there  but  no  wheel  tracks,  and  I'm  inclined 
to  think  the  machine  was  carried  by  the  two  men  so 
as  to  avoid  leaving  a  trail." 

After  a  moment's  deliberation,  Chief  Rankin  stepped 
down  from  the  car,  telling  Warden,  now  quite  recov- 
ered, to  remain  with  Mary  and  the  chauffeur. 


78  THE    PASSPORT 

"You've  got  a  gun,  Harrison,"  he  said  to  the  driver, 
receiving  an  affirmative  nod  in  reply,  "and  you,"  ad- 
dressing Warden,  "had  better  take  one  of  mine,  as  a 
precaution."  With  this  the  Chief  handed  him  a  revol- 
ver. "I'm  not  sure,  of  course,  just  what  we  are  up 
against  in  this  thing.  Leighton  and  I  will  be  able  to 
take  care  of  ourselves.  It  is  possible  we  may  meet  with 
a  fight.  Don't  leave  this  car,  since  you've  got  a  girl  to 
look  after."  He  spoke  as  if  he  had  not  quite  forgiven 
the  young  man  for  bringing  a  girl  into  the  adventure. 
"Keep  an  eye  open  all  around  you  and  take  no  chances 
with  any  strangers.  Don't  let  anybody  come  near  the 
car."  Then,  to  the  chauffeur,  "Keep  your  engine  go- 
ing, for  it  is  possible  that  Leighton  and  I  may  have 
to  make  a  run  for  it."  With  that,  the  Chief  and  his 
assistant  climbed  the  embankment  and  were  soon  lost 
to  view  over  the  ridge. 

The  afternoon  was  well  advanced  by  this  time  and 
the  sun  was  getting  lower  and  lower  in  the  western 
sky. 

"To  think  that  they  should  have  been  able  to  attack 
you,"  Mary  said,  after  they  had  sat  silently  for  a 
while,  wondering  where  the  trail  was  leading  the  two 
secret  service  men.  "Some  of  those  anarchists  must 
have  been  watching  you,  dear,  all  the  time.  Very 
likely  the  same  men  that  watched  you  in  Union  Square. 
Don't  you  think  so,  Dick?" 

"I  am  not  so  sure  about  that,"  he  replied.  "I  really 
don't  think  any  of  those  anarchists  who  were  in  the 
New  York  mob  know  to  this  day  just  what  hit  them. 
All  I  do  know  is  that  they  did  not  have  another  meeting 
the  following  Saturday.  They  evidently  did  not  care 
to  take  any  chances." 


THE    PASSPORT  79 

"You  don't  think  Schmidt  had  anything  to  'do  with 
the  attack  to-day?" 

"I  am  not  thinking,  dear,  I  don't  know.  I'm  rather 
inclined  to  believe  the  one  that  sent  the  anonymous 
letter  to  the  secret  service  was  the  one  who  had  a 
hand  in  the  affair  to-day." 

"But  in  that  case  you  must  have  been  followed  when 
you  left  New  York  this  morning!" 

"I  can  swear  to  it  that  we  were  not  followed,"  he  de- 
clared, decidedly.  "We  travelled  over  the  roads  with- 
out another  car  in  sight.  No  one  knew,  from  me,  that 
we  would  be  out  here  to-day.  The  secret  service  men 
certainly  did  not  advertise  our  plan." 

"And  I  have  not  spoken  to  a  soul  on  anything  but 
home  topics  since  I  received  word  from  you."  Mary 
spoke  very  earnestly.  "Dick,  it  is  a  terrible  position 
for  a  girl  to  be  placed  in,  to  know  her  father  is  mixed 
up  in  some  dishonorable  matters  and  that  she  cannot 
justify  her  father's  actions.  I  have  a  feeling  of  utter 
loneliness — except  when  I  think  of  you.  Dick,  please 
don't  go  to  Europe.  Don't  let  me  remain  here  all 
alone!"  She  moved  closer  to  him  and  Warden  petted 
her  reassuringly  on  the  shoulder. 

"I  cannot  promise  not  to  go  to  Europe,"  he  an- 
swered. "That  is  the  principal  thing  about  the  plans 
I  have  made.  What  is  happening  now,  as  far  as  your 
father's  and  Schmidt's  activities  are  concerned,  was 
quite  unexpected.  I  had  intended  first  making  some 
experiments  in  this  country,  in  which  I  did  not  dream 
either  your  father  or  his  friends  would  be  interested. 
Sometimes  I  think  my  discovery  of  your  father's  real 
identity  as  Buhrwein,  instead  of  Berwin,  has  something 
to  do  with  Schmidt's  interest  in  me.  His  interest  in 


80  THE   PASSPORT 

me  dates  from  the  evening  I  last  visited  your  home. 
Why,  I  believe  that  it  was  Schmidt  who  played  burglar 
in  my  rooms  the  night  before  the  Union  Square  hap- 
pening." He  fumbled  about  his  pockets.  "I  think  I 
have  a  souvenir  of  that  night  right  here  with  me.  I 
mean  to  show  it  to  my  friend  Schmidt  some  day."  He 
produced  the  piece  of  torn  silk  handkerchief  that  he 
had  found  on  the  floor  of  his  hotel  apartment.  When 
Mary  looked  upon  it  she  gasped.  There  was  a  look 
of  such  unutterable  anguish  on  her  beautiful  face  that 
young  Warden  was  unable,  for  the  moment,  to  ask 
her  the  cause  of  it. 

"Why "  he  began. 

"It  is  nothing — nothing  at  all,"  whispered  Mary,  in 
a  hardly  audible  tone.  She  kept  her  eyes  riveted  on 
the  torn  'kerchief  and  only  shifted  her  gaze  to  look  at 
the  wondering  young  man  next  to  her  with  an  expres- 
sion in  which  terror  plainly  predominated. 

"What  in  the  world — what  has  happened  now?"    He 

looked  at  her  with  mingled  surprise  and  concern.     "I 

seem  to  run  up  against  a  new  mystery  every  moment." 

"Dick,  I'm  afraid  to — oh,  it  is  too  much,  Dick!" 

and  she  burst  out  crying. 

"Well,  tell  me  about  it,  little  girl,  tell  me.  It  will 
make  you  feel  better  than  to  keep  it  to  yourself.  It's 
something  about  this  cloth.  What  is  it?" 

Mary  took  the  torn  'kerchief  in  her  hands  and  ex- 
amined it  closely.  Then  she  gave  it  back  to  young 
Warden,  while  she  looked  the  other  way,  without 
speaking. 

"Well,  come  now,"  he  pleaded,  "what  about  it?  'Fess 
up.  There  is  nothing  in  the  world  that  cannot  be 
straightened  out — except  a  hunchback."  He  tried  to 
laugh,  so  as  to  bring  a  smile  to  Mary's  face  also,  but 


THE    PASSPORT  81 

it  was  a  hopeless  attempt.  He  realized  it  a  moment; 
later  when  Mary  made  reply  after  she  had  first  given 
way  to  a  fresh  outburst  of  tears,  resting  her  head  on 
his  shoulder. 

"Dick,  that — that  handkerchief  belongs  to  my  father ! 
I  gave  it  to  him  at  Christmas.  Don't  tell  me  that  a 
burglar  left  it  in  your  room !  Oh,  don't  tell  me  that!" 

A  bright  thought  came  to  the  young  man.  Not  that 
he  had  the  slightest  faith  in  its  logic  himself,  but  he 
hoped  to  impress  the  being  that  he  loved  best  in  the 
world  with  a  suggestion  which  he,  himself,  knew  to  be 
absurd. 

"How  foolish!"  he  exclaimed,  as  if  with  an  inspira- 
tion. "Could  not  your  father  have  lost  that  muffler 
and  could  it  not  have  been  found  by  somebody — by  the 
man  who  tried  to  burglarize  my  rooms !" 

If  the  suggestion  did  not  seem  to  impress  Mary 
deeply,  it  impressed  her  enough  to  make  her  smile 
through  her  tears. 

"If  you  think  it  was  a  regular  burglar  that  visited 
you,  then  I  guess  that  would  be  it.  Only,  you  seemed 
to  think  the  visit  was  from  Schmidt.  That  is,  that  it 
was  in  connection  with  other  things  that  have  re- 
cently happened." 

Nearly  an  hour  had  passed  since  the  government 
officers  had  left  them,  and  the  occupants  of  the  auto- 
mobile were  becoming  restless.  Even  Harrison,  who 
had  been  on  many  trips  where  patience  had  been  the 
principal  desiratum,  found  the  quietude  and  the  ab- 
sence of  any  sign  from  his  superiors  becoming  op- 
pressive. A  chilling  breeze  added  to  their  discomfort 
and  for  a  time  Mary  and  young  Warden  sat  without 
saying  a  word,  the  girl  content  to  be  near  the  man 
she  felt  was  the  only  protector  she  had,  and  he  think- 


82  THE    PASSPORT 

ing  of  a  mother,  now  gone,  and  what  she  would  have 
thought  could  she  have  known  of  the  maelstrom  of  vital 
incidents  into  which  her  son  had  plunged  himself. 

Their  individual  reveries  were  cut  short  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  man  approaching  along  the  ridge  about 
one  hundred  yards  down  the  road  ahead  of  them. 

Warden  disengaged  himself  and  involuntarily  grasped 
his  automatic,  the  chauffeur  making  the  same  prepara- 
tions. 

The  stranger  came  within  hailing  distance  of  those 
in  the  car  and  waved  his  arm  in  the  way  of  a  pleasant 
greeting.  As  he  came  opposite  the  automobile  he 
stopped,  still  remaining  on  the  ridge. 

"Chief  Rankin  wants  you  to  drive  down  to  the  first 
road  on  the  right  and  turn  in  that  road  till  you  meet 
him,"  he  said,  with  the  accent  of  a  foreigner.  What 
nationality  he  was  Warden  could  not  feel  certain. 

For  the  fraction  of  an  instant  Warden  and  the 
chauffeur  exchanged  glances.  Each  of  them  for  an 
instant  had  misgivings  which,  however,  disappeared. 
Then  Harrison,  grunting  an  almost  inaudible  "all 
right,"  slowly  let  in  the  clutch  and  grudgingly  sent  the 
car  ahead. 

As  Warden  looked  back,  for  no  particular  reason 
whatever,  to  see  where  the  stranger  was  going,  he 
found  that  the  man  had  disappeared.  In  the  brief 
moment  that  he  had  stood  before  them,  the  man  had 
impressed  him  as  being  either  a  young  German  or  a 
Scandinavian.  There  was  nothing  distinctive  about  his 
dress,  although  he  did  not  look  at  all  like  a  field  laborer, 
as  might  have  been  expected  in  this  section. 

The  relief  of  moving,  with  some  definite  destination 
in  view,  made  those  in  the  car  forget  about  the  man. 
The  turn  the  latter  had  indicated  was  about  a  quarter 


THE    PASSPORT  83 

of  a  mile  away,  and  when  it  was  reached,  Harrison 
guided  the  heavy  machine  slowly  up  a  slight  grade  over 
what  could  only  by  courtesy  be  called  a  road.  The 
chauffeur  had  some  doubts  about  the  directions,  but 
it  was  the  only  break  in  the  highway  in  sight,  so  up 
the  sandy  grade  he  went. 

A  steep  bank,  as  if  the  road  had  been  recently  dug 
through  the  main  embankment,  flanked  both  sides.  The 
car  had  almost  reached  the  top  of  the  grade  and  Har- 
rison was  just  putting  on  the  final  speed  to  help  him 
over  the  top  when  four  men,  two  from  either  side  of 
the  grade,  slid  down  the  banks  and  leaped  on  the  run- 
ning boards,  before  those  in  the  car  were  aware  of  it. 

One  man  grasped  Mary's  hands  and  another  those 
of  Warden,  before  the  latter  could  use  the  Chief's 
revolver,  which  his  assailant  at  once  appropriated. 
The  other  two  men  flanked  Harrison,  each  pressing  a 
revolver  against  the  chauffeur's  sides  and  ordering  him 
to  go  ahead  until  they  should  tell  him  to  stop. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

THOSE  in  the  car  saw  a  barren  waste  before  them 
as  they  reached  the  top  of  the  short  climb  from  the 
road.  The  monotony  of  it  was  relieved  only  by  a  small 
building,  without  so  much  as  a  fence  or  outbuildings 
to  give  it  a  habitable  appearance.  It  seemed  entirely 
isolated  from  any  other  human  habitation  and  its  own 
appearance  was  such  that  one  would  hardly  have  be- 
lieved that  it  was  occupied  or  that  human  hands  had 
anything  to  do  with  placing  it  on  that  desolate  stretch 
of  sand. 

Harrison,  under  the  impressive  guidance  of  the  two 
revolvers,  ran  the  car  along  the  sandy  patch  towards 
the  house,  stopping  about  two  hundred  yards  from  the 
building,  when  ordered  to  do  so  by  his  armed  guards. 
Warden  then  noticed  for  the  first  time  that  the  fellow 
who  was  guarding  Mary  was  the  young  stranger  who 
had  come  to  them  on  the  highway  with  the  alleged 
message  from  Rankin. 

Of  two  men  who  came  from  the  house,  as  one  of  Har- 
rison's captors  sounded  the  horn  of  the  car,  one  held 
a  handkerchief  over  his  face  and  did  not  advance  fur- 
ther than  a  few  feet  from  the  doorway.  He  jerked  at 
the  arm  of  the  other  man  who  had  come  out  of  the 
building  with  him,  evidently  gave  the  latter  some  in- 
structions— as  appeared  from  the  gestures  he  made — 
then  re-entered  the  house. 

His  companion  came  forward  to  the  car,  but  went 
to  it  in  a  roundabout  way,  coming  up  behind  it.  He 
spoke  in  German  to  one  of  Harrison's  guards,  with  the 


THE    PASSPORT  85 

result  that  the  chauffeur  was  helped  down  from  the 
driver's  seat,  had  his  arms  bound  behind  his  back  and 
was  led  a  little  distance  away  from  the  automobile, 
where  his  ankles  were  also  tied. 

Young  Warden  was  next  treated  to  a  similar  indig- 
nity, and  left  standing  near  Harrison,  arms  and  ankles 
secured. 

The  fellow  who  had  come  from  the  house  then  turned 
and  approached  the  motor  car. 

"Sorry  to  cause  you  any  annoyance,  Miss,  but  it  is 
necessary,"  he  said,  addressing  Mary.  "We  will  not 
tie  you  up  if  you  will  not  make  any  trouble  for  your- 
self, but " 

"Mr.  Smith !"  There  was  a  world  of  reproach  in  the 
tone  as  Mary  turned  and  faced  the  man  whom  she  had 
met  openly  as  "Smith"  in  her  father's  New  York  home 
and  whom  she  knew  to  be,  in  reality,  Max  Schmidt, 
from  the  secret  conversations  that  she  had  overheard 
there.  "So  you  have  turned  highway  robber!" 

The  girl  hoped  that,  by  letting  the  fellow  think  she 
believed  him  only  a  highway  robber,  he  might  possibly 
allow  her  to  go  back  to  New  York  under  promise  of 
silence.  Then  she  planned  to  secure  aid  for  Warden 
and  the  secret  service  men. 

The  ruse  failed  of  its  purpose,  however.  Schmidt 
was  not  deceived  by  the  fair  girl's  seeming  surprise. 

"No,  Miss  Berwin,  that  won't  do,"  he  said,  with  a 
sneer.  "You  don't  think  me  a  highway  robber  any 
more  than  I  do  myself.  You're  in  bad  company,  for 
your  own  health.  And  it  is  going  to  be  a  very  hard 
thing  to  get  you  out  of  this  mess — in  safety.  Too 
much  depends  upon  it  to  allow  any  one,  who  has  inter- 
fered with  affairs  that  do  not  concern  him  or  her,  to 
return  to  their  ordinary  manner  of  living." 


86  THE    PASSPORT 

"Where  are  the  other  gentlemen  of  our  party?" 
"The  other — gentlemen,"  began  Schmidt  with  a  sneer 
in  which  intense  hatred  was  all  too  evident,  "the  other — 
gentlemen?  Oh,  they  have  been  taken  care  of.  They 
are  just  as  comfortable  as  those  two  over  there,"  point- 
ing to  Warden  and  Harrison. 

The  men  guarding  Warden  and  the  chauffeur  were 
called  over  to  the  house  by  the  man  with  the  'kerchief 
just  then,  leaving  the  two  pinioned  prisoners  standing 
together  by  themselves. 

"May  I  get  out  of  the  car?"  asked  Mary.  "I  have 
become  terribly  cramped  and  chilled." 

"If  you  keep  away  from  the  house — yes,"  returned 
Schmidt,  almost  reluctantly.     "But  stay  near  the  car." 
"How  long  are  we  going  to  be  detained  here?" 
The  fellow  laughed  outright,  the  first  time  that  a 
sign  of  mirth  had  come  over  his  almost  bestial  face. 

"Detained?"     He  laughed  again  as  if  the  very  sug- 
gestion of  it  was  ludicrous.     "Why,  I  don't  know  how 
long  you'll  be — detained!    That  isn't  for  me  to  say." 
Mary  climbed  out  of  the  tonneau. 
"For  who  is  it  to  say,  then?    For — for  my  father?" 
There  was  hesitation  in  the  inquiry,  as  if  the  girl  did 
not  want  to  ask  the  question  but  was  forced,  by  some 
subjective  control,  to  do  it. 

The  effect  of  it  on  Schmidt  was  instantaneous,  how- 
ever. He  looked  very  serious. 

"I  don't  know.     I  don't  know,"  he  repeated,  hastily. 
Then  he,  too,  was  called  to  the  house. 
Mary  walked  leisurely  around  the  car  so  as  to  pass 
Warden  and  the  chauffeur.     As  she  passed  the  former, 
the  former  spoke  to  her  with  intense  earnestness. 
"Listen — Mary — and  remember  everything  I  say — 


THE    PASSPORT  87 

carefully.  Under  the  seat — in  the  tonneau — a  blue 
bottle — saturate  your  mask  from  it — better  also  satur- 
ate two  other  masks  while  you're  about  it — if  you  have 
the  chance.  Then — one  of  the  brown  vials.  Be  very 
careful  with  it.  On  your  life  don't  open  or  drop  it 
until  you  have  your  mask  on.  If  you  can,  get  to  the 
house  before  they  come  out.  Throw  the  brown  vial 
with  all  your  might  against  the  entrance,  but — for 
God's  sake — be  sure  you  strike  something  that  will 
break  it.  Hurry — it's  our  only  hope,  I'm  afraid." 

Without  betraying  the  agitation  under  which  she  was 
laboring,  Mary  walked  quietly  away  from  where  the 
two  men  stood.  Her  impulse  was  to  fly  to  the  car  and 
follow  Warden's  instructions  with  feverish  haste.  She 
was  able  to  control  herself,  however,  and  with  every 
muscle  set  for  accelerated  movement  she  strolled,  de- 
liberately, almost  carelessly,  in  a  round-about  way,  to 
the  machine. 

She  took  from  the  tonneau  a  wrap  which  she  put 
about  her  neck  with  much  ostentation  and  then  ap- 
peared to  look  for  something  else  to  put  around  her 
shoulders. 

As  she  bent  over  the  tonneau  seat  a  second  time  she 
worked  with  haste,  saturating  three  masks  and  placing 
one  of  the  little  brown  vials,  its  stopper  carefully  pro- 
tected with  wire,  in  her  muff.  Two  of  the  masks  she 
let  lay  on  the  seat  while  the  third  she  placed  in  her 
muff  also. 

But  a  few  minutes  had  elapsed  since  Schmidt  had 
been  called  to  the  house.  No  movement  had  come 
from  the  building,  the  front  door  of  which  remained 
open.  Mary,  instead  of  walking  directly  to  the  house, 
walked  in  a  zig-zag  course  so  that,  with  each  "tack," 
she  approached  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  house. 


88  THE    PASSPORT 

In  this  way  she  had  come  to  within  twenty  feet  of 
the  entrance  when — she  was  compelled  to  sneeze. 

Almost  on  the  same  instant  Schmidt  rushed  to  the 
door  from  within,  evidently  startled  by  the  proximity 
of  someone  outside. 

As  the  German  appeared  Mary,  with  remarkable 
quick  wit,  threw  the  brown  vial  at  the  flagstone  that 
served  as  a  threshold  for  the  house.  With  equal  pres- 
ence of  mind  the  girl  adjusted  her  mask  before  the 
bottle  reached  its  mark,  where  it  burst  with  a  crash. 

Schmidt  made  one  step  forward  and  then  fell  pros- 
trate on  his  face.  No  one  else  came  from  the  building. 

The  instant  Mary  had  adjusted  her  own  mask  she 
ran  as  fast  as  she  could  for  the  car,  snatched  the  two 
masks  from  the  rear  seat  and  rushed  to  Warden  and 
Harrison.  She  wanted  to  put  the  masks  to  their  faces, 
but  Warden  said  it  was  not  necessary. 

"Not  now,"  he  said.  "The  quantity  used  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  reach  us  here.  The  house  and  the  area  around 
it  only  are  affected  by  that  little  vial.  First  of  all, 
get  the  knife  out  of  my  pocket  and  cut  these  ropes, 
dear.  Cut  them  at  the  knots  only,  for  we  will  need 
those  cords  very  likely." 

In  a  twinkling  both  were  free.  They  gathered  up 
the  ropes  and  then  adjusted  their  masks. 

"Now  for  the  house !"  said  Warden  as  he  and  Har- 
rison led  the  way  to  the  building  in  front  of  which 
Schmidt  was  lying,  stretched  out  at  full  length. 

A  glance  towards  the  rear  of  the  house  showed  the 
searchers  that  the  building  stood  almost  on  the  ridge 
of  a  sloping  dune  that  brought  up,  less  than  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  away,  on  the  shore  of  the  bay.  It  was  appar- 
ent to  the  two  men  of  the  little  party  that  they  were 


THE    PASSPORT  89 

at  or  very  near  Sandy  Hook,  and  to  the  westward  of  it, 
for  none  of  the  settlements  near  the  main  entrance  to 
the  harbor  were  visible  from  their  point  of  vantage. 

"Looks  to  me  as  if  we're  at  the  Horse  Shoe,  some- 
where near  the  Highlands,"  volunteered  Harrison. 
Warden,  less  familiar  with  the  topography  of  the 
country  thereabouts,  had  no  better  suggestion  to  offer. 

The  tying  of  Schmidt's  hands  and  feet,  as  a  return 
compliment  for  the  indignity  they  themselves  had  suf- 
fered, was  done  conscientiously  and  with  no  regard  for 
the  later  comfort  of  the  fellow. 

Next  the  two  men  and  Mary  entered  the  mysterious 
house.  There  were  two  rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  one 
of  them  evidently  used  as  a  kitchen  while  the  other — 
which  also  served  as  the  entrance  to  the  building — 
contained  only  a  rough  table,  a  bench,  two  ordinary 
wooden  chairs  and  an  old,  delapidated  arm  chair  from 
the  worn-out  upholstery  of  which  there  protruded  a 
mixture  of  straw  and  excelsior  on  all  sides. 

There  was  no  sign  of  life  in  the  front  room,  but  in 
the  kitchen,  which  also  had  a  table,  a  bench  and  several 
wooden  chairs,  and  the  door  to  which  was  wide  open, 
Warden  and  his  companions  found  five  men,  all  of  them 
unconscious.  One,  whom  they  recognized  as  the 
stranger  who  had  lured  them  from  the  highway,  had 
fallen  from  the  bench  on  which  he  had  been  sitting,  to 
the  floor.  The  man  next  to  him  had  evidently  fallen 
forward  on  his  arms  and  lay  over  the  table,  as  if 
asleep.  Three  other  men  lay  limp  in  chairs  on  the 
other  side  of  the  room  from  the  connecting  door. 

Mary  had  remained  at  the  door  leading  from  the 
front  room  to  the  kitchen.  Her  self-possession  and 
presence  of  mind,  so  admirably  preserved  during  the 
critical  moments  of  the  preceding  half  hour,  were  now 


90  THE    PASSPORT 

fast  deserting  her,  womanlike,  once  she  felt  that  the 
safety  of  her  companions  and  herself  no  longer  de- 
pended upon  her.  So,  while  Warden  and  the  chauf- 
feur were  examining  the  inanimate  group  in  the  kitchen, 
taking  from  the  men  their  revolvers  and  knives,  Mary 
stood  still — or  as  still  as  she  could,  for  she  was  swaying 
involuntarily — holding  on  with  grim  determination  to 
the  door  casing. 

Warden  was  lifting  the  head  of  the  man  who  was 
lying  across  the  tablo  and  was  taking  a  look  at  the 
features  when  he  happened  to  glance  behind  him.  As 
he  saw  Mary's  weak  condition  he  laid  the  man's  head 
gently  on  the  table  again  and  quickly  went  to  her.  His 
expression,  as  he  had  noted  the  features  of  the  uncon- 
scious man,  was  one  of  intense  perturbation,  made  no 
less  so  when  he  saw  the  condition  of  his  sweetheart. 

"I  will  have  Harrison  run  the  car  close  to  the  house," 
he  said,  supporting  the  now  trembling  girl  and  leading 
her  gently  to  the  open.  He  called  to  the  chauffeur  and 
a  moment  later  the  car  was  at  the  side  of  the  house  and 
to  the  windward  of  it.  "Sit  in  the  car,  well  wrapped 
up,  until  Harrison  and  I  find  the  Chief  and  Leighton. 
No  further  use  of  the  mask  now.  Breathe  the  cool  air." 

The  chauffeur  suggested  that  Warden  remain  with 
Mary  so  as  not  to  leave  her  entirely  unprotected  in 
case  of  an  emergency,  a  suggestion  that  found  partial 
favor  with  the  young  man  except  that  he  insisted  that 
Harrison  should  remain  in  the  car  with  the  girl  since 
he  alone  knew  how  to  run  the  machine. 

Returning  to  the  house,  Warden  first  thoroughly  tied 
the  hands  and  feet  of  four  of  the  men  in  the  kitchen. 
He  did  not  bind  the  man  whom  he  had  found  lying  over 
the  table.  Then,  cautiously  ascending  the  creaky  stairs 
that  led  from  the  kitchen  to  the  floor  above,  he  peered 


THE    PASSPORT  91 

over  the  edge  of  the  floor  into  a  room  the  door  of  which 
was  wide  open  and  on  the  floor  of  which  he  saw  lying 
two  men. 

He  at  once  recognized  Rankin  and  Leighton. 

Rushing  into  the  room,  he  quickly  untied  the  cords 
that  held  the  secret  service  men  and  then  went  to  a 
window,  from  which  he  called  to  Harrison  to  help  him. 
Between  them  they  carried  the  limp  forms  of  the  Chief 
and  his  assistant  into  the  open  air,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  house,  where  they  would  not  be  in  sight  of 
Mary.  Then  Harrison  returned  to  the  car  while  War- 
den resumed  his  exploration  of  the  upper  floor  of  the 
house. 

Except  to  find  that  the  two  rooms  contained  four 
cots  and  were  evidently  used  at  times  for  sleeping  quar- 
ters, although  of  the  most  rudimentary  type,  the  upper 
floor  of  the  house  disclosed  absolutely  nothing  note- 
worthy. 

There  was  then,  thought  Warden,  only  to  wait  for 
Rankin  and  Leighton  to  come  to  their  senses.  He 
went  outside  again.  Rankin  would  decide  what  to  do 
with  the  six  prisoners.  This  arrangement  did  not  seem 
feasible  to  him  a  moment  later.  It  would  be  almost 
four  hours  before  those  now  unconscious  would  come 
to.  Also,  it  would  be  quite  dark  by  that  time  and 
then  the  impossibility  of  taking  all  of  the  six  men  in 
the  car  besides  his  own  party  presented  itself.  Young 
Warden  hit  upon  another  scheme. 

"I'll  take  the  Chief's  badge,"  he  said  to  Harrison. 
"You  take  Leighton's.  We'll  put  the  Chief,  Leighton 
and  this  fellow  Schmidt  in  the  rear  seat  and  tie  two 
of  the  others  to  the  seats  in  the  middle.  Miss  Berwin 
will  sit  in  front  with  you  and  I'll  hold  the  unconscious 
ones  in  their  places  from  the  running  board.  We 


92  THE    PASSPORT 

should  be  able  to  make  Pemberton  in  less  tHan  an  hour 
anyway;  we  will  put  the  three  prisoners  in  jail  there 
and  come  back  here  before  sunset.  By  that  time  the 
Chief  and  Leighton  will  have  recovered,  for  I  shall  give 
them  something,  if  there  is  a  pharmacy  in  Pemberton." 

The  secret  service  men  and  three  of  the  prisoners — 
Schmidt  among  them — were  put  in  the  machine  and, 
after  an  hour's  fast  driving,  the  party  stopped  in  front 
of  the  County  Jail  at  Pemberton. 

Warden  showed  his  badge  and  spoke  briefly  to  the 
jailer,  who  agreed  to  lock  the  three  men  in  separate 
cells  and  to  keep  them  incommunicado  until  the  Fed- 
eral authorities  should  call  for  them  the  following  day. 
The  jailer  wanted  to  tell  about  the  day's  happenings 
in  Pemberton,  but  all  the  young  man  cared  to  know 
was  what  had  happened  when  the  anarchists  recovered 
their  senses. 

"Oh,  they  were  hooted  out  of  town,"  said  the  garru- 
lous keeper.  "They  were  the  most  sheepish-looking  lot 
you  ever  saw  as  they  took  the  train  back  to  New  York 
about  half  an  hour  ago.  It  was  a  mighty  strange  hap- 
pening, take  it  from  me,  and  I've  been  in  Pemberton 
a  good  many  years,  and — and  I've  never  seen  nothing 
stranger  happening  hereabouts.  I  was  saying  to  my- 
self that  it  was  a  miracle,  a  downright  miracle.  Why, 
anybody  would  know  what  it  was !" 

While  the  car  stopped  at  the  town  garage  for  an 
additional  supply  of  oil,  Warden  visited  the  town  phar- 
macy so  called — although  it  was  run  as  a  side  line  by 
the  general  storekeeper — for  some  drugs.  On  the  run 
back  to  the  house  on  the  sands  he  administered  the 
antidote.  This,  and  the  fresh  air  that  they  had  been 
breathing,  restored  both  men  to  consciousness  before 


THE   PASSPORT  93 

the  car  reached  the  cut  in  the  highway  leading  to  the 
isolated  dwelling. 

At  first  neither  Rankin  nor  Leighton  had  the  slightest 
recollection  of  the  events  through  which  they  had 
passed.  Both  only  remembered  the  departure  from 
Pemberton  after  the  assault  on  Warden.  With  the 
latter's  assistance,  he  refreshing  their  memories,  both 
men  soon  recalled  their  pursuit  of  the  motor  cycle  and 
then  their  leaving  the  car  in  the  road  while  they 
essayed  to  track  the  fugitive  wheelmen  over  the  sand 
dunes. 

Suddenly  the  chief  almost  jumped  from  his  seat. 

"I  remember  now,"  he  shouted.  "By  Gad,  we  must 
get  back  there  and  quick !  How  many  did  you  take  to 
the  jail?"  he  asked,  excitedly.  When  told  the  number, 
he  asked:  "How  many  did  you  say  there's  still  at  the 
house?  Three?  Yes,  that's  it.  We  saw  six  of  them. 
Two  came  up  from  below.  Yes,  now  I  remember." 

"From  below  where?"  asked  Warden. 

"From  the  cellar — through  a  trap  door.  Boy,"  very 
earnestly,  "we're  on  the  track  of  something  big,  very 
big.  That  house  is  a  blind.  Something  underneath 
that  house.  You  may  have  rounded  up  the  whole 
gang  and  then,  again,  there  may  be  any  number  more. 
I  cannot  figure  it  out." 

"But  how  underneath,  chief?"  insisted  Warden, 
breathlessly. 

Rankin's  manner  was  so  unusual  that  even  the  chauf- 
feur, hardened  to  many  uncanny  adventures,  leaned 
back  his  head  so  as  to  catch  the  words  that  were  spoken 
behind  him,  without  losing  sight  of  the  road  ahead. 

"There's  a  plant — a  factory — something  connected 
with  that  house — underneath.  I  remember  some  of  the 


94  THE    PASSPORT 

talk  now.  It  wasn't  counterfeiting,  which  I  thought  at 
first  it  might  be.  I  remember  one  of  those  fellows  say- 
ing it  was  something  only  Germans  could  think  up. 
And  it's  against  the  government,  whatever  it  is,  for 
they  were  all  the  time  using  the  words  'dam  Yankees' 
while  they  pow-wowed  in  the  room  below  the  one  in 
which  Leighton  and  I  were  put.  When  Bob  and  I  came 
to  the  house,  feeling  pretty  sure  the  motor  cycle  had 
been  carried  there  from  the  road  where  we  left  }Tou, 
we  found  the  door  open.  We  had  our  guns  handy  and 
walked  in  very  carefully.  Just  as  we  got  inside  four 
men  fell  on  us  and  had  us  powerless  before  we  could 
pull  a  trigger.  Then  one  of  them,  whom  they  called 
Max  and  who  evidently  knew  me  by  sight  and  name, 
told  one  of  the  gang  to  go  to  the  automobile  and  give 
the  driver  a  message  from  me,  ordering  him  to  drive 
ahead  and  giving  the  directions  which  you  evidently 
followed.  I  remember  hearing  your  horn  once  or  twice 
after  that  and  the  next  thing  I  knew  I  fell  asleep,  but 
first  we  heard  part  of  what  they  were  discussing  down- 
stairs." 

Warden  smiled,  notwithstanding  the  evident  serious- 
ness of  the  adventure. 

"You  did  not  think  I  would  put  you  to  sleep  so  soon, 
did  you,  chief?" 

"No,"  said  Rankin,  with  a  dry  little  laugh.  "I  didn't 
know  it  then,  either.  Just  fell  asleep,  that's  all." 

The  car  here  turned  into  the  cut  in  the  road,  ran  up 
the  grade  at  full  speed  and  continued  to  the  door  of 
the  house.  Harrison  held  out  the  masks  to  the  others. 

"Not  necessary  any  more,"  said  Warden.  "The 
fumes  have  flown  away  long  ago.  It's  very  strong  and 
powerful  at  first,  but  it  is  quickly  dispelled,  although 


THE    PASSPORT  95' 

the  effects  on  those  who  get  it  on  the  first  application 
last  for  about  four  hours." 

Mary,  who  had  quite  recovered  her  self-control  and 
her  "nerves"  by  this  time,  and  who  now  looked  upon  the 
day's  happenings  as  a  thrilling  adventure  that  she 
would  not  have  missed  for  the  world,  joined  the  others 
in  the  entry  of  the  mysterious  building. 

Warden  had  almost  forgotten  something  of  which  he 
was  suddenly  reminded  just  as  the  party  was  about  to 
enter  the  kitchen. 

"Stay  in  this  front  room — please,"  he  asked  of  his 
sweetheart,  caressing  her  cheeks.  "Please  don't  come 
with  us  just  now." 

"But  there  is  nothing  horrible  about  it,  now  that 
we  are  all  safe,"  insisted  the  girl.  "I  want  to  see  every- 
thing. I  helped,  just  as  if  I  was  one  of  you  men,  this 
afternoon,  and  I  think  you  ought  to  let  me  remain 
with  you  now !"  With  that,  the  young  woman  pushed 
him  into  the  kitchen  after  the  others. 

Rankin  and  Leighton  were  lifting  up  the  man  who 
had  been  lying  forward  over  the  table.  Mary  entered 
the  room  just  as  they  were  setting  him  bold  upright  on 
the  bench. 

As  the  girl  saw  the  face  she  gave  a  piercing  shriek 
and  fell  in  a  dead  swoon.  She  would  have  gone  to  the 
floor  had  not  Warden  held  her.  He  placed  her  gently 
in  the  old  arm  chair  and  applied  ammonia,  the  only 
restorative  he  had  at  hand,  to  her  nostrils.  Harrison 
brought  a  flask  from  which  some  brandy  was  forced 
between  her  lips.  Rankin  did  not  take  kindly  to  the 
occurrence.  He  was  not  at  all  sympathetic. 

"That's  what  you  get  having  women  around  with 
you  on  a  case,"  he  growled  disgustedly. 


96  JHE   PASSPORT 

When  Mary  came  out  of  her  fainting  spell  she 
sobbed  piteously. 

"My  father!  My  father!"  she  moaned,  her  body 
rocking  backward  and  forward  while  she  covered  her 
face  with  both  her  hands. 

"Her  what?"  demanded  Rankin,  looking  up  from  his 
investigations  in  the  other  room. 

"Yes,  her  father,"  said  Warden,  reflecting  in  his 
face  the  utter  misery  of  the  situation  that  he  felt.  To 
spare  Mary  the  additional  humiliation  of  the  Chief's 
angry  comments,  he  went  into  the  kitchen,  holding  a 
finger  to  his  lips,  warningly. 

"Did  you  know  this,  before  she  saw  him?"  again  de- 
manded the  Chief,  looking  at  the  young  man  search- 
ingly. 

"I  did — when  Harrison  and  I  came  in  here  before, 
to  get  you  and  Leighton  out,  after  she  had  made  it 
possible  for  us  to  save  you.  That — that  was  the  rea- 
son I  did  not  tie  him  up." 

"To  let  him  get  away,  eh?" 

"No,  chief,  not  for  that — just  because  he  was  her 
father.  I  knew  he  would  not  wake  up  before  we  came 
back.  We  tied  up  the  others  as  a  matter  of  form.  It 
was  not  really  necessary." 

"Dick,  did  you  know  her  father  was  mixed  up  in  this 
German  plot,  whatever  it  may  be?" 

"I  knew." 

"And  then  you  take  the  daughter  into  your  confi- 
'dence!  A  fine  line  of  reasoning!"  There  was  some- 
thing of  contempt  in  the  secret  service's  man's  tone. 

"You  forget  just  one  thing,  Chief,"  replied  young 
Warden,  testily,  "that  the  United  States  Secret  Ser- 
vice would  probably  have  gotten  busy  on  this  German 
plot  after  its  consummation  instead  of  before — if  it 


THE   PASSPORT  97 

had  not  been  for  what  Miss  Berwin  Cold  me  and  which 
I  transmitted  to  you!" 

Having  seen  the  point  of  the  argument  and  the  jus- 
tice of  it,  Chief  Rankin  was  not  the  kind  of  man  to 
stick  stubbornly  to  his  own  impressions. 

"You're  right,"  he  said,  putting  a  big,  pudgy  hand 
on  the  younger  man's  shoulder.  "But  you  did  not  tell 
me  anything  about  her  father  being  mixed  up  in  the 
thing." 

"I  hoped  that  Berwin  might  be  scared  off  when  he 
learned  that  the  government  was  after  his  crowd." 
Warden's  voice  was  broken  as  he  looked  into  the  other 
room,  at  the  pitiful,  huddled  form  in  the  arm  chair. 
"Poor,  poor  little  girl.  It's  going  to  be  very  hard  for 
her  in  a  little  while.  Very,  very  hard." 


CHAPTER 

IT  was  a  strange  group  that  sat  around  the  kitchen 
table  in  that  lonely  house.  Two  oil  lamps  gave  out  a 
sickly  light,  one  from  a  shelf  on  one  side  of  the  room 
and  the  other  from  its  hook  suspended  over  the  table. 

At  one  end  sat  Chief  Rankin.  At  the  other  Berwin 
— or  "Boorwine,"  as  the  detective  insisted  on  calling 
him — now  entirely  recovered,  with  Leighton  on  one 
side  and  young  Warden  on  the  other.  Near  the  win- 
dow sat  Mary,  slowly  rocking  her  body  without  moving 
the  chair,  in  evident  great  mental  distress,  while  in  an 
opposite  corner  sat  the  two  other  prisoners,  handcuffed 
and  tied  to  their  chairs.  Harrison  stood  at  the  door 
of  the  outer  room,  keeping  guard  over  the  automobile. 
It  was  a  sort  of  court  martial  and  police  "third  de- 
gree" process  rolled  into  one,  with  Rankin  as  the  in- 
quisitor, but  lacking  both  persecuting  and  defending 
counsel. 

Berwin  sat  perfectly  erect,  almost  soldier-like,  and 
decidedly  defiant.  The  man  did  not  even  have  a  kindly 
glance  for  his  daughter,  whom  he  evidently  believed  to 
be  responsible  for  his  dilemma,  because  of  her  associa- 
tion with  young  Warden.  That  he  felt  intense  hatred 
for  the  latter,  there  was  no  doubt.  Every  now  and 
then  a  furtive  glance  of  the  bitterest  resentment  was 
directed  towards  the  young  man  at  his  elbow. 

"If  you  will  tell  us  all  that  you  know  of  this  affair 
there's  every  chance  that  the  government  will  deal 
lightly  with  you,"  spoke  Rankin,  addressing  the  pris- 


THE    PASSPORT  99 

oner  at  the  other  end  of  the  table.    "Will  you  make  it 
easy  for  the  government  and  for  yourself?" 

Berwin  directed  his  cold,  impassive  eyes  towards  the 
Chief  and  held  them  there  before  he  replied.  His  atti- 
tude was  such  that  one  could  well  imagine  the  man 
standing  up,  erect,  with  his  heels  clicking  as  he  came 
to  attention. 

"I  have  absolutely  nothing  to  tell  you."  He  uttered 
the  words  very  slowly  and  with  distinct  emphasis  on 
each  syllable. 

"What  is  under  this  house?  demanded  the  inquisitor. 
Then,  before  the  other  could  reply,  had  he  wished  to 
do  so,  "Will  you  tell  us  how  this  trap  opens  or  must 
we  tear  down  the  house  to  find  out?" 

A  shrug  of  the  shoulders  was  all  the  answer  the 
prisoner  would  vouchsafe. 

Mary  had  been  anxiously  looking  at  her  father  and 
now  she  bent  forward,  tears  in  her  eyes  and  a  great 
earnestness  in  her  every  movement. 

"Father — please — I  beg  you — please  tell  them  what 
they  must  know.  And  you — you  are  an  American  now, 
too,  besides  being  my  dear  father.  Please  tell  every- 
thing. It  is  right  they  should  know.  I  do  not  want 
my  father  to  be  in  trouble.  Please  tell  them."  The 
girl  sat  very  still,  her  eyes  on  Berwin,  her  mouth  partly 
open,  waiting  eagerly  for  his  words. 

Slowly  Berwin  turned  his  gaze  to  his  daughter. 
There  was  no  gleam  of  loving  recognition  in  his  eyes 
as  they  met  hers,  however. 

"Some  day,"  he  spoke  in  almost  a  monotone,  "you 
will  realize  what  you  have  done." 

"But  I  have  done  nothing — nothing  except  to  love 
Dick.  And  Dick  is  interested  in  some  great  plan  that 
will  prevent  untold  misery  in  the  world.  I  have  chosen 


100  THE    PASSPORT 

to  follow  him.  I  never  dreamt  to  see  you  Here — like 
this!"  There  was  an  agonizing  despair  in  the  last 
words  as  the  girl  buried  her  face  in  her  hands  again. 

Berwin  did  not  answer  nor  did  he  show  any  emotion 
at  his  daughter's  impassioned  appeal.  There  was, 
however,  a  peculiar,  comprehending  light  in  his  eyes 
as  she  spoke  of  Warden's  plans.  It  seemed  as  if  some- 
thing had  just  come  to  him  that  he  had  not,  before  this, 
been  able  to  fathom. 

Chief  Rankin  was  showing  signs  of  impatience  and 
finally  brought  his  hand  down  upon  the  table  in  front 
of  him. 

"We're  not  getting  any  further  this  way  and  I  pro- 
pose to  get  further!"  he  said.  "Now,  Miss  Berwin,  if 
you  are  strong  enough  to  go  home  I'm  going  to  send 
you  to  Pemberton  in  the  car.  There  you  can  take  a 
train  for  New  York.  If  you  are  not  strong  enough, 
Mr.  Warden  can  accompany  you,  but  I  would  rather 
keep  him  here  with  me.  I  want  you  to  promise  me  not 
to  say  a  word  to  anyone,  not  even  to  your  mother, 
about  anything  that  happened  to-day.  It  will  be  much 
better  for  everybody  concerned,  especially  your 
father." 

"I — I  can  go  alone,"  said  the  girl  in  an  almost  inau- 
dible tone.  "I  shall  not  say  a  word  to  anyone." 

She  got  up  from  her  chair,  adjusted  her  wraps  and 
moved  towards  the  door  leading  to  the  other  room.  In 
passing,  she  laid  her  hand  gently  on  her  father's  shoul- 
der and  stooped  to  kiss  his  hair.  Berwin  did  not  stir 
in  his  seat  nor  did  he  seem  to  take  notice  of  the  caress. 

Warden  arose  and  walked  out  after  Mary.  As  he 
passed  Berwin  he  held  the  piece  of  the  muffler  he  had 
torn  from  his  assailant  the  night  of  the  attack  in  the 
hotel.  Berwin  winced  as  he  looked  at  the  cloth. 


THE    PASSPORT  101 

Rankin  gave  the  chauffeur  his  instructions.  Then, 
while  Leighton  remained  to  guard  Berwin,  Rankin  and 
the  chauffeur  helped  the  two  manacled  prisoners  into 
the  tonneau,  where  they  were  tied  securely.  Mary 
was  to  sit  in  front  with  Harrison.  The  prisoners  were 
to  be  left  at  the  jail  with  the  others  and  Harrison, 
after  dropping  Miss  Berwin  at  the  railroad  station, 
was  to  get  something  to  eat  and  put  in  a  supply  of 
sandwiches  for  the  company  in  the  house  on  the  dunes. 
He  was  also  ordered  to  purchase  an  iron  lever  bar,  such 
as  is  used  by  railroad  track-layers. 

Before  entering  the  machine,  Mary  turned  to  Chief 
Rankin,  her  hand  on  his  arm. 

"You  will  not  be  harsh  with — with  my  father?"  she 
faltered. 

"He'll  have  no  cause  to  complain  of  my  treatment, 
Miss  Berwin,"  replied  the  secret  service  man.  "I  hope 
for  you  that  everything  will  turn  out  alright." 

After  kissing  her  and  pressing  her  hands  in  his  own 
for  a  moment,  Warden  went  back  into  the  house  with 
the  Chief  and  the  car  disappeared  down  the  grade  for 
the  road  to  Pemberton. 

Chief  Rankin  lost  no  time  in  getting  to  work  on  the 
mystery  that  confronted  him.  After  the  daughter's 
departure,  he  decided  that  it  would  be  safer  to  hand- 
cuff Berwin,  so  that  he  and  his  two  assistants  might 
have  their  hands  free  to  search  the  lower  floor  for  the 
entrance  to  the  regions  supposed  to  be  beneath.  Ber- 
win was,  accordingly,  manacled  and  tied  to  a  chair  as 
the  best  way  to  prevent  either  an  escape  or  an  attempt 
at  rescue — should  others,  heretofore  not  met  with, 
show  upon  the  scene. 

Sounding  the  floor  with  a  hammer  that  was  found 
in  the  kitchen  failed  to  bring  forth  any  desired  results. 


102  THE    PASSPORT 

The  floor  was  evidently  well-laid,  even  though  the  build- 
ing, from  the  outside,  appeared  to  be  ramshackle. 
There  were  two  chimneys  in  the  house,  entirely  out  of 
proportion  with  its  other  arrangements  and  the  fact 
that  there  was  no  fireplace  at  all  and  only  a  stove-pipe 
connected  with  one  of  the  two  pieces  of  masonry,  caused 
the  secret  service  men  some  conjecture.  There  was, 
apparently,  no  opening  in  one  of  the  two  chimneys 
along  its  upward  course  and  its  usefulness  could  not 
be  guessed  at  by  the  men.  Lack  of  tools  made  it  im- 
possible for  Rankin  and  the  others  to  pry  open  what 
looked  as  if  it  might  be  a  trap  in  the  kitchen  floor  but 
the  cracks  around  which  were  almost  invisible. 

The  two  detectives  and  Warden  had  resigned  them- 
selves to  wait  for  the  return  of  the  car  and  the  proper 
tool  with  which  to  complete  their  search  when,  sud- 
denly, there  was  a  peculiar,  rasping  noise  that  seemed 
to  come  from  nowhere  in  particular  and  yet  appeared 
to  have  been  made  not  far  away  from  where  they  were 
seated  in  the  kitchen. 

Leighton  had  risen  to  his  feet  at  the  first  noise  and 
was  looking  at  his  Chief,  who  also  had  a  puzzled  ex- 
pression on  his  face,  when  Berwin  was  seen  to  act  in  a 
most  extraordinary  manner.  In  a  sitting  posture,  with 
his  manacled  hands  tied  to  the  back  of  the  chair  and 
his  feet  also  bound  with  a  cord  to  the  legs  of  that  piece 
of  furniture,  he  was  making  desperate  efforts  to  trip 
himself  over  sideways. 

Not  knowing  just  why,  Rankin  leaped  upon  the  pris- 
oner and  was  in  time  to  prevent  the  man  and  chair 
from  toppling  to  the  floor. 

"You're  up  to  something,  eh?"  growled  Rankin,  un- 
der his  breath. 


THE    PASSPORT  103 

Berwin  gazed  involuntarily  at  a  space  in  the  floor 
near  the  connecting  door.  Then  he  suddenly  raised  his 
voice  to  an  unnatural  and  ludicrous  height. 

"I  was  not,"  he  screamed.  "You  cannot—  '  Ran- 
kin  had  clapped  a  heavy  hand  over  Berwin's  mouth. 

"None  of  that !"  he  hissed.  "You  can't  attract  at- 
tention that  way,  my  man." 

Leighton  moved  over  quietly  and  a  gag  was  quickly 
placed  over  Berwin's  mouth. 

"If  we  had  the  car  here  I'd  let  you  give  him  some- 
thing to  make  him  sleep,"  said  the  Chief  to  Richard. 
"You  don't  carry  it  about  with  you,  do  you?" 

Warden  shook  his  head  by  way  of  negative  reply. 

There  came  a  repetition  of  the  noise  they  had  heard 
before.  It  now  sounded  very  plainly  as  if  chains  were 
being  clanged  together. 

"What  the  devil  do  they  call  this?  Ghosts?"  said 
Rankin,  with  a  queer  little  laugh. 

He  had  hardly  uttered  the  jest  when  that  portion 
of  the  flooring,  in  the  direction  of  which  Berwin  had 
been  looking,  rose  up,  like  a  platform  about  six  feet 
square,  each  corner  supported  by  an  iron  or  steel  brace, 
disclosing  an  elevator  on  which  stood  a  young  man. 
From  the  appearance  of  his  face  and  hands,  grimy  with 
oil,  and  his  clothes,  he  was  evidently  a  machinist. 

The  newcomer's  body  was  but  half  above  the  floor 
level  when  he  saw  the  others  and,  undoubtedly  scenting 
trouble,  he  reversed  the  clanging  chain  that  controlled 
the  motive  power  for  the  lift. 

Rankin  was  too  quick  for  him,  however.  In  a  flash 
he  had  thrown  the  bench  half  way  through  the  breach 
in  the  hidden  elevator  opening  as  a  wedge,  at  the  same 
time  covering  the  man  on  the  platform  with  his  re- 


104  THE    PASSPORT 

volver.  The  top  of  the  elevator,  forming  the  detached 
piece  of  kitchen  flooring,  came  down  on  the  bench  with 
a  grinding  noise. 

The  revolver  proved  sufficient  inducement  to  the  man 
from  below  to  send  his  lift  upwards  again.  The  fellow 
stepped  off  the  moving  platform  into  the  room,  with  his 
hands  held  above  his  head. 

"What  have  you  been  doing?"  asked  Rankin,  of  the 
new  arrival. 

There  was  a  bewildered  look,  which  seemed  to  be  di- 
rected especially  at  the  bound  figure  of  Berwin. 

"Verstelie  nicht,"  was  all  that  came  from  the  be- 
grimed one. 

Rankin  had  seen  the  look  of  doubt  in  the  direction  of 
Berwin  and  he  told  Leighton  to  take  Berwin  into  the 
other  room  and  guard  him  there.  Then  he  closed  the 
connecting  door  and  he  and  Warden,  both  of  them  un- 
derstanding German,  proceded  to  question  this  latest 
addition  to  the  mysterious  colony,  in  his  native  tongue. 

"Where  do  you  come  from?"  was  the  first  question 
launched  at  the  young  chap  by  the  Chief,  the  latter's 
desire  being  to  learn  what  part  of  the  building  the  ma- 
chinist had  recently  left  behind  him. 

"From  Europe — Germany — I  was  brought  here  to 
do  machinist  work  eight  months  ago,"  replied  the  man. 
He  then  volunteered  the  information  that  he  was  work- 
ing for  the  Fatherland  and  that  the  work  required 
secrecy.  He  was  being  well  paid,  he  said,  but  he  was 
supposed  to  be  content  with  remaining  where  he  was, 
without  leaving  the  building  under  any  circumstances, 
at  least  not  until  his  employers  were  ready  to  send  him 
back  to  Germany. 

"And  where  in  Germany  did  you  work?"  asked 
Rankin. 


THE    PASSPORT  105 

"In  Essen,  in  the  submarine  shops,"  was  the  calm 
rejoinder. 

"How  many  men  are  down  below?"  asked  Richard, 
pointing  downward,  through  the  floor. 

"Twelve,  besides  myself,  now,"  the  machinist  replied, 
after  a  brief  calculation. 

"Now?"  asked  Rankin.  "How  many  are  there  other 
times,  then?" 

"About  a  hundred,"  replied  the  fellow,  laconically. 

Rankin  was  completely  stunned  by  the  information 
secured  from  this  young  man,  who  seemed  to  answer  in 
a  perfectly  candid  manner,  and  without  the  slightest  re- 
serve or  hesitation,  every  question  that  was  asked  of  him. 

"How  is  it  that  you  are  willing  to  answer  our  ques- 
tions?" Rankin  finally  managed  to  say.  It  was  the 
first  time  that  an  inquisition  had  gone  so  smoothly  in 
his  long  career  as  a  detector  of  crime  and  he  could  not 
possibly  understand  it. 

The  machinist  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"I  suppose  I  will  get  in  trouble  if  I  lie,"  he  said  in 
a  matter-of-fact  tone.  "I  have  had  trouble  enough. 
I  have  been  here  eight  months  and  they  have  not  treated 
me  right.  I  want  to  go  back  to  Germany.  You  will 
send  me  back  to  Germany  if  I  tell  everything  right?" 

"You  keep  right  on  and  tell  us  everything  and  you'll 
get  back  to  Germany  alright,"  said  Rankin,  smiling. 
"Where  does  that  elevator  lead  to?" 

"To  the  shop." 

"And  what  are  they  doing  in  the  shop  now?"  asked 
the  chief. 

"Working  on  the  boat." 

"What  boat?" 

"U54.  The  one  that  put  a  hole  in  that  big  warship 
two  nights  ago." 


106  THE    PASSPORT 

Rankin  and  Warden  looked  at  each  other. 

Two  nights  before,  the  Oklahoma,  newest  of  dread- 
noughts, had  been  reported  as  having  had  an  explosion 
on  board  which  killed  a  dozen  of  her  men.  The  explo- 
sion was  a  mystery  and  had  not  been  accounted  for 
although  it  had  been  stated,  unofficially,  that  the  big 
battleship  might  have  been  out  of  her  course  and  have 
struck  a  submerged  rock  or  else  that  a  drifting  sub- 
merged derelict  had  collided  with  her. 

So  this  was  the  explanation  of  the  Oklahoma's 
mishap ! 

Rankin  felt  miserably  handicapped  at  not  having 
more  witnesses  present  at  this  strange  recital.  Both 
he  and  Warden  felt  that  revelations  of  a  most  amazing 
character  were  at  hand,  revelations  that  would  have  a 
great  directing  force  in  the  future  action  of  the  Ameri- 
can government. 

"You — you  mean  that  there  is  a  shop — a  machine 
shop — for  the  repair  of  submarines — below?"  asked 
Rankin,  incredulously. 

"Oh,  yes.  I've  worked  in  the  shop  for  eight  months 
now  and  sometimes  business  is  very  brisk." 

"How  far  down  is  this  shop?"  It  was  Warden  who 
took  a  turn  at  the  questioning. 

"About  thirty  metres." 

"And  how  big  is  it?" 

"About  sixty  metres  long  and  about  nine  or  ten 
metres  in  diameter.  It's  round." 

"Why  did  you  come  up  on  the  elevator  just  now?" 

"To  get  my  orders  for  the  night.  It's  my  night  on 
watch." 

"How  long  has  that  shop  been  down  there?"  asked 
Rankin  eagerly. 

"Oh,  a  very  long  time.     It  .was  there  long  before  I 


THE    PASSPORT  107 

came  there  and  I've  been  there  eight  months.  But  I 
want  to  go  back  to  Germany."  The  young  fellow 
looked  eagerly  around  for  the  first  time  since  he  had 
been  under  examination.  He  suddenly  lost  some  of  his 
stoicism.  "Can  I  leave  here  now,  go  outside?"  he  al- 
asked,  almost  pleadingly. 

"When  we  get  through  with  you,  yes,"  replied  the 
Chief.  "But  we  need  you  for  a  while  yet.  What  are 
those  two  chimneys  for?"  Rankin  pointed  to  the  ma- 
sonry part  of  the  wall. 

"One  is  for  the  fresh  air  to  come  down  there,"  said 
the  machinist,  pointing  downward.  "The  other  is  for 
the  air  to  get  out  from  down  there." 

"And  the  elevator?     How  does  that  work.     What 
power  do  you  use?"  asked  Richard. 
"Electricity,"  the  other  replied. 

"Where  do  you  get  the  electricity?"  insisted 
Warden. 

"They  make  it  from  the  ocean  water,"  was  the  calm 
reply. 

"From  the  ocean  water?     What  do  you  mean?" 
"I  don't  know  but  they  told  me  they  made  it  from 
the  water.     It's  salt,  you  know." 

The  examination  of  the  young  German  was  still  in 
progress  when  Harrison  returned  with  the  car.  While 
the  lever  bar  was  no  longer  necessary  the  provisions  he 
brought  were  welcome.  A  case  of  bottles  in  the  corner 
of  the  kitchen,  containing  the  amber  fluid  which  Ger- 
mans may  be  depended  upon  to  have  in  handy  prox- 
imity always,  solved  the  question  as  to  how  the  sand- 
wiches could  be  washed  down. 

"I  think  that  you  had  better  attend  to  Berwin,"  sug- 
gested Rankin  after  Harrison  had  deposited  the  sand- 
wiches and  other  things  on  the  table  in  the  kitchen, 


108  THE    PASSPORT 

and  Warden  had  asked  the  detective  whether  Mary's 
father  should  be  brought  in  to  have  some  food.  "First 
you  might  ask  him  whether  he  cared  to  eat  a  couple 
of  the  sandwiches,  however." 

The  prisoner  in  the  next  room  declined  the  proffered 
food  with  a  show  of  contempt. 

"Fix  him  up,  Dick,"  repeated  the  detective.  "Then 
we  will  be  free  to  eat  and  talk  and  he'll  be  quiet  for 
some  hours." 

Warden,  assisted  by  Harrison,  placed  Berwin  in  the 
automobile.  First,  he  had  taken  one  of  the  little  brown 
vials  from  under  the  tonneau  seat.  With  Berwin  seated, 
the  machine  was  run  a  hundred  yards  away  from  the 
house,  Warden  and  the  chauffeur  adjusted  their  masks 
and  the  former  broke  the  bottle  on  one  of  the  car's  hubs. 
The  automobile  was  then  run  back  to  the  house  and 
Berwin,  again  quietly  sleeping,  was  placed  on  the  floor 
in  a  corner  of  the  front  room. 

The  machinist,  whose  name  was  Fecht,  joined  enthu- 
siastically in  the  consumption  of  the  food  that  had 
been  brought  from  Pemberton.  It  seemed  to  the  se- 
cret service  men  and  Warden  that  the  young  man  felt 
relieved  rather  than  disturbed  over  the  new  direction 
his  affairs  had  taken. 

It  was  the  question  of  how  to  overcome  the  twelve 
men  said  to  be  in  the  "shop"  below  that  puzzled  the 
detectives  most.  To  wait  until  the  next  day  seemed  in- 
advisable, for  Fecht  told  them  that  a  much  larger  gang 
might  come  to  work  again  any  time  if  the  "business" 
— as  he  termed  it — warranted  the  extra  force. 

"I  don't  know  about  the  other  men,"  finally  said 
Fecht.  "My  brother  is  there  and  I  know  that  he  wants 
to  get  out  of  this  work,  too.  There  are  three  small 
men  who  will  not  be  able  to  do  much  against  you  three 


THE    PASSPORT  109 

but  eight  others  are  pretty  big  men  and  may  make 
trouble." 

Fecht  did  not  know  whether  there  were  any  weapons 
in  the  "shop"  besides  the  large  numbers  of  rifles  and 
revolvers  that  were  stored  in  cases.  He  himself  had 
never  carried  a  weapon  and  neither  had  his  brother 
but  he  did  not  know  about  the  rest  of  the  machinist 
crew.  He  and  the  twelve,  he  said,  were  all  in  the 
"stranger"  class.  The  large  emergency  gang  that 
sometimes  worked  in  the  "shop"  came  from  the  city, 
wherever  that  was.  The  "strangers"  all  remained  vir- 
tual prisoners  in  the  plant,  those  not  on  watch  at  night 
sleeping  on  the  upper  floor  of  the  house,  guarded  over 
by  four  men  who  always  remained  on  guard  duty  in 
regular  reliefs.  These  four  men,  said  the  machinist, 
were  probably  the  men  the  detectives  had  told  him  had 
assaulted  them  in  the  car  and  who  had  later  been  taken 
away. 

It  was  finally  decided  to  bind  Fecht  just  as  they  had 
bound  the  other  prisoners,  for  his  own  protection. 

"If  they  find  you  bound  and  a  prisoner,"  said  Ran- 
kin  to  the  young  man,  "they  will  not  suspect  that  you 
have  told  us  anything.  Even  though  one  of  us  may 
ask  you  questions  never  answer  us  if  there  are  any  of 
your  fellow  workmen  present.  For  your  own  good  do 
not  let  any  of  them  know  that  you  have  said  anything 
to  us.  If  they  knew,  you  would  not  last  long  after 
you  are  free  to  go  back  to  Germany.  When  the  time 
comes  we  will  give  you  an  opportunity  to  escape  so 
that  your  record,  as  far  as  your  countrymen  is  con- 
cerned, will  be  perfectly  clear.  You  understand  that, 
don't  you?" 

Fecht  understood  and  submitted  to  the  operation  of 
binding  without  a  murmur. 


110  THE    PASSPORT 

He  told  Rankin  how  to  use  the  elevator  and  gave 
other  directions  to  the  secret  service  men  as  to  where 
to  go  when  they  should  reach  the  bottom  of  the  shaft. 

Rankin  arranged  that  he  and  Warden — upon  whom 
the  secret  service  Chief  had  come  to  look  as  a  valuable 
asset  and  effective  addition  to  his  staff — were  to  go 
below,  while  Leighton  and  the  chauffeur  should  remain 
to  guard  against  eventualities.  Warden,  of  course, 
provided  himself  with  several  of  his  vials  for  use  in 
case  of  emergency.  Both  he  and  Rankin  were  fully 
armed  with  automatics,  held  conveniently  in  their  coat 
pockets,  although  young  Warden,  being  a  man  of 
peace,  hoped  fervently  that  he  would  not  need  to  use 
the  deadlier  of  the  two  weapons  that  he  had  about  him. 
They  planned  to  call  Fecht's  brother  as  soon  as  they 
landed  below,  as  if  they  were  there  on  business  with 
the  plant  and  desired  to  speak  to  one  of  the  workman. 
The  brother,  being  a  sort  of  foreman,  would  naturally 
be  the  one  they  would  consult  with.  Rankin  and  War- 
den depended  upon  their  ability  to  speak  German  to 
carry  them  through  the  first  stage  of  their  dangerous 
mission  nearly  one  hundred  feet  underground. 

"You  two  had  better  wear  your  masquerade  cos- 
tumes," said  Rankin  to  his  assistant  and  Harrison. 
"We  may  have  to  use  that  stuff  of  Richard's  quick 
down  there  and  then  you  two  might  be  out  of  the  game 
before  you  knew  it,  if  the  fumes  should  come  up.  Put 
one  on  Fecht,  too." 

To  the  accompaniment  of  the  same  rattling  of  the 
chain  that  had  first  attracted  their  attention,  the  Chief 
and  Warden  descended  in  the  lift,  now  dark  as  pitch 
during  the  trip  downward,  until  the  car  stopped  with 
a  little  thud  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft. 

Rankin  felt  around  until  he  struck  a  handle  which 


THE    PASSPORT  111 

proved  to  be  the  hold  of  the  bar  that  held  an  iron  door. 
Lifting  it,  he  pushed  open  the  door  and  the  two  men 
stepped  into  what,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
would  have  been  called  a  typical  machine  shop. 

At  some  distance  from  them  several  men  were  work- 
ing. The  "shop,"  which  was  all  of  the  sixty  metres  in 
length  that  Fecht  had  given  it,  appeared  to  be  divided 
in  several  sections.  It  was,  apparently,  a  huge  tube, 
the  walls  and  the  ceiling  meeting  in  a  dome  for  its  full 
length,  with  a  flooring  that  was  interrupted  here  and 
there  with  big  gaps  where  almost  the  complete  circle 
of  the  structure  was  visible.  Both  Rankin  and  Warden 
braced  themselves  for  the  task  of  getting  the  better  of 
the  workmen  in  the  place  without  recourse  to  a  battle 
for  life  which,  of  course,  it  was  bound  to  be  should  the 
twelve  elect  to  defy  the  two  strangers. 

Finally  Rankin  nerved  himself  for  the  first  act  of 
aggression. 

"Fecht!"  he  called  out  in  a  firm  and  authoritative 
tone. 

One  of  the  men  immediately  detached  himself  from 
the  others  and,  wiping  his  hands  on  his  mechanic's 
apron,  stepped  forward.  The  other  workmen  near  him 
looked  up  from  their  work  for  an  instant,  as  workmen 
are  wont  to  do  when  strangers  appear  in  their  shop, 
but  then  immediately  resumed  their  work  again. 

"Young  man,"  said  the  Chief,  as  the  workman  came 
close,  and  speaking  in  his  most  carefully  selected  Ger- 
man, "there  is  trouble  upstairs.  Step  over  here  a  mo- 
ment," indicating  a  spot  where  a  piece  of  machinery 
would  hide  them  from  the  view  of  the  others,  "your 
brother  is  a  prisoner.  No,  nothing  will  happen  to  him 
and  nothing  will  happen  to  you,  if  you  do  not  make  any 
outcry.  Both  of  you  will  be  permitted  to  go  back  to 


112  THE    PASSPORT 

your  country  in  peace,  if  you  behave  yourselves.  We 
are  government  officers  and  we  have  pistols  pointed  at 
you  now,  so  don't  make  a  false  move  on  your  life." 

The  fellow  was  too  surprised  to  speak  and  mutely  did 
as  he  was  told,  standing  back  of  the  machinery,  without 
protest,  while  Warden  searched  him  under  Rankin's 
expert  directions.  The  Chief  himself,  the  while,  cov- 
ered the  man  with  his  revolver. 

"Now  give  me  the  name  of  another  man  to  call, 
quickly !"  spoke  the  detective.  Fecht  gave  the  desired 
information,  quite  perfunctorily. 

"Wehrbohm !"  called  out  Rankin. 

The  man  answering  to  that  name  stepped  forward. 
The  sight  of  the  revolver  and  his  foreman  standing 
dutifully  aside  was  sufficient  reason  in  Wehrbohm's 
mind  for  him  to  follow  suit.  Warden  again  went 
through  the  process  of  searching  and  then  covered  both 
men  with  his  revolver  as  Rankin,  having  received  a  third 
name,  called  it  out. 

In  this  way  they  got  five  prisoners,  materially  re- 
ducing the  odds  against  them  in  the  underground  shop. 
German-like,  the  prisoners  stood  quietly,  almost  as  if 
they  considered  it  a  matter  of  course,  phlegmatically 
obedient  under  superior  authority.  Then  Rankin  de- 
manded to  know  what  communication  there  was  with 
the  house  and  was  told,  by  Fecht,  that  there  was  a 
speaking  tube  alongside  the  elevator.  Leaving  War- 
den to  guard  the  five  men,  the  Chief  whistled  through 
the  tube  and  got  Leighton. 

"I'll  send  the  elevator  up,"  he  told  his  assistant. 
"Come  down  with  as  many  bracelets  as  you  have  up 
there.  Leave  Harrison  on  guard  and  better  keep  your 
mask  handy,  although  we  haven't  had  to  use  ours — 
yet." 


THE   PASSPORT  113 

Just  for  luck,  Rankin  got  another  name,  called  it; 
put  and  "bagged"  a  sixth  victim. 

Then  Leighton  stepped  out  of  the  elevator  and  five 
of  the  prisoners  were  handcuffed  with  their  hands  be- 
hind their  backs,  placed  in  the  elevator  and  taken  above 
by  Leighton,  the  latter  being  instructed  to  secure  the 
men  with  cords,  of  which  he  took  a  supply  from  the 
shop,  and  return  at  once  with  the  "bracelets"  again. 
Fecht  was  kept  below  as  he  could  be  made  useful  by 
the  Chief. 

Upon  Leighton's  return  he  found  four  more  sullen- 
faced  Germans  lined  up  as  prisoners  leaving  but  two 
workers  still  at  large.  After  the  four  were  secured 
with  the  cuffs,  the  remaining  two  were  called  and  at- 
tended to  without  any  greater  trouble  than  had  marked 
the  capture  of  the  others  and  what  Rankin  had  looked 
upon  as  an  extremely  hazardous  job  had  been  accom- 
plished without  a  shot,  a  blow  or  the  use  of  Warden's 
secret  "sedative." 

Foreman  Fecht  having  told  the  Chief  that  he  was  the 
one  who  generally  looked  after  the  running  of  the 
plant,  the  care  of  the  machinery,  ventilating  apparatus 
and  the  safeguarding  of  the  pumps,  Rankin  decided  to 
keep  him  below  until  he  finished  his  investigations  there. 
The  other  prisoners  were  sent  above  with  Leighton  and 
to  Warden  was  assigned  the  task  of  accompanying  the 
secret  service  Chief. 

The  machine  shop  appeared,  quite  evidently,  to  be  a 
model  of  completeness  and  mechanical  ingenuity.  Hav- 
ing in  mind  the  desolate  house  on  the  dunes  overhead, 
Rankin  and  his  young  aide  could  not  help  but  marvel 
at  the  thoroughness  of  the  equipment  here,  far  under- 
neath the  sandy  waste,  and  wonder  how  all  this  ma- 
chinery could  have  been  brought  to  the  subterranean 


THE   PASSPORT 

shop  without  attracting  attention  outside.  Then,  tod, 
the  very  construction  of  this  huge  tubular  affair  seemed 
an  utter  impossibility  without  anything  ever  having 
been  hinted  of  it  in  the  outside  world. 

There  were  drill  presses,  lathes,  electrical  welding 
machines  and  compressed-air  hoists  of  the  most  intri- 
cate and  delicate  patterns.  The  place  was  well  lighted 
with  electricity — the  regular  Tungsten  lamps  being 
used  at  the  various  machines  besides  several  clusters 
suspended  from  above  at  regular  intervals  along  the 
entire  length  of  the  shop — making  the  big  tube  as  light 
as  if  the  men  working  in  it  were  in  the  open  instead  of 
deep  down  under  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

In  the  center  of  the  shop  there  was  a  space  devoted 
to  a  series  of  blocks,  very  evidently  there  for  the  pur- 
pose of  having  some  heavy  machinery  rest  upon  them 
from  time  to  time. 

"That,"  said  Rankin,  pointing  to  the  blocks,  "is 
for- 

"The  submarines,"  interrupted  the  foreman.  "When 
they  come  in  for  repair  they  are  put  on  the  blocks." 

"How  do  they  come  in?"  questioned  Warden,  taking 
up  the  inquisition,  since  Rankin  seemed  unable  to  ask 
more  than  one  question  without  first  waiting  to  give  his 
brain,  fairly  bewildered  at  this  seemingly  impossible 
achievement,  time  to  frame  another. 

"Through  the  locks,"  said  Fecht.  "They've  got 
four  locks,  three  inside  and  one  at  the  end.  You  see 
these  bulkhead  doors.  They're  worked  on  hinges  with 
heavy  rubber  gaskets  to  close  them  tight.  When  the 
boat  comes  in  from  the  sea  it  goes  through  the  outer 
lock  into  the  first  compressed-air  chamber.  First  the 
three  inner  bulkheads  are  closed  and  compressed  air  is 
sent  into  the  three  chambers.  Then  the  outer  lock  is 


THE    PASSPORT  115 

slowly  opened  and  water  replaces  the  air  in  that  cham- 
ber. When  the  boat  is  inside,  the  outer  lock  is  closed 
and  the  water  forced  out  of  the  chamber.  When  all 
the  water  is  forced  out,  the  second  set  of  bulkheads  is 
slowly  opened  and  the  air  pressure  equalized  in  the  two 
further  chambers.  In  the  chamber  between  the  fresh- 
air  room  at  the  shaft-end  of  the  shop,  and  the  one  in 
which  there  is  the  compressed  air  after  the  entrance  of 
the  boat,  there  are  two  rooms  through  which  the  work- 
men pass  so  as  to  get  accustomed  to  the  different  pres- 
sures. They  can't  pass  into  the  compressed  air  cham- 
ber with  the  biggest  pressure  at  once.  And  they  can't 
pass  out  into  the  fresh  air  at  once,  either.  Only  those 
examined  by  the  doctor  and  passed  by  him  can  go  in 
for  this  work  and  they  only  stay  an  hour  or  so  at  a 
time.  The  doctor  looks  everybody  over.  He  is  always 
by  the  air  shaft  when  there's  a  boat  for  repairs." 

"How  many  boats  have  they  got,  altogether?"  ven- 
tured the  Chief. 

"Four,"  was  the  reply.  "There's  another  shop  like 
this  down  the  coast,  way  south  of  here,  thousand  kilo- 
meters or  so." 

Rankin  and  young  Warden  looked  at  each  other  in 
amazement. 

"Is  that — are  you  quite  sure  that's  all  they've  got?" 
finally  asked  the  Chief. 

"That's  all  I  ever  heard  of,"  said  Fecht. 

"How  did  they  build  this  thing?"  This  from  Ran- 
kin as  he  craned  his  neck  in  all  directions,  wonder- 
ment written  plainly  on  his  face. 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  the  foreman.  "You  can  ask 
Wehrbohm.  He's  been  here  the  longest  of  any.  I 
guess  he  helped  build  it." 

Rankin    inspected    the    construction    of    the    tube 


116  THE    PASSPORT 

closely.  It  was  evidently  an  all-steel  affair,  sectional 
steel  rings,  bolted  together  and  forming  a  perfect  tube. 
There  was  no  moisture  to  be  found,  except  in  the  fur- 
thest compartment — now  part  of  the  whole  since  there 
was  no  submarine  to  call  for  the  closing  of  the  bulk- 
head doors — which  was  damp  in  spots  because  of  the 
more  or  less  fequent  inlet  of  water  upon  the  arrival 
of  one  of  the  undersea  boats.  There  was  absolutely 
not  an  inch  of  wasted  space  in  the  "shop"  and  not  a 
speck  of  rubbish  could  be  found  in  the  length  and 
breadth  of  it.  Every  part  of  the  intricate  machinery 
was  clean  and  shiny — highly  polished  where  there  was 
brass — and  no  evidence  anywhere  of  dripping  oil  or 
accumulation  of  metal  dust.  The  thing  was  incompre- 
hensible. Rankin  several  times  believed  that  he  was 
still  under  the  influence  of  Warden's  mysterious  "se- 
dative," dreaming  this  wonder  dream  of  mechanical 
and  inventive  skill,  hidden  under  the  earth,  a  secret 
weapon  against  those  who,  since  they  had  known  how 
to  fight,  had  always  fought  in  the  open.  He  was  eager 
to  know  just  how  long  it  had  taken  the  Germans  to 
construct  this  secret  steel  cave,  for  he  felt — although 
not  versed  in  mechanical  construction — that  no  plant 
as  thoroughly  built  as  this  one  was,  and  as  fully  and 
splendidly  equipped,  could  have  been  completed  ex- 
cept after  many  long  years  of  silent,  secret  work  and 
even  then  he  could  not  understand  how  it  could  have 
been  done  at  all  without  an  inkling  of  the  truth  ever 
leaking  out. 

Warden,  too,  after  having  started  out  from  his  col- 
lege studies  on  a  definite  mission,  now  suddenly  found 
himself  thrust  into  an  unheard-of  maze  of  mystery 
and  intrigue,  notwithstanding  himself.  Following  one 
particular  course,  he  had  found  himself  suddenly  forced 


THE   PASSPORT  117 

into  another,  although  there  was  a  certain  satisfaction 
in  the  knowledge  that  his  discovery  had  proved  its 
worth  and  that  this  fact  alone  augured  well  for  what 
he  hoped  to  accomplish  in  a  much  wider  field  of  en- 
deavor. 

Their  inspection  ended,  the  Chief,  accompanied  by 
Warden  and  the  foreman,  made  ready  to  ascend  to  the 
house  overhead.  The  ventilator  fan  was  doing  its  work 
of  sucking  the  fresh  air  from  the  open  into  the  shop 
below  and,  apparently  without  any  outside  agency  to 
keep  them  going,  the  electric  lights  shone  forth 
brightly.  With  inborn  German  thrift  and  discipline, 
just  as  if  there  had  been  no  interruption  in  the  rou- 
tine of  the  shop  through  the  coming  of  the  government 
officers,  Fecht  said  he  wished  to  throw  a  switch  so  as 
to  reduce  the  number  of  lights,  leaving  three  isolated 
lamps  going  in  the  long  tube. 

"Saving  on  the  electric  light  bill,  eh?"  smiled  Rankin. 

"Orders  are  to  leave  but  three  lights  burning  when 
going  off  duty,"  was  the  complacent  reply  of  the 
German. 

"It's  orders,  not  reasoning,  with  these  fellows,  Dick," 
said  the  detective  to  young. Warden,  speaking  in  Eng- 
lish. "And  it's  following  orders,  without  reasoning, 
that  is  going  to  be  the  undoing  of  the  Avhole  outfit  be- 
fore these  fight-mad  Germans  are  through  with  their 
war." 

Rankin  told  the  foreman  that  he  would  keep  him 
covered  with  his  revolver  when  they  reached  the  house, 
so  that  none  of  the  others  would  think  that  he  had 
volunteered  any  information  or  assistance  to  the  detec- 
tives. The  man  seemed  to  understand  this  friendly 
consideration  for  his  well-being  and  he  acknowledged 
it  with  a  grunt. 


118  THE    PASSPORT 

The  night  was  now  advancing  and  all  hands  were 
tired.  The  workers  in  the  shops  were  due  to  turn  in, 
under  normal  conditions,  but  this  could  not  be  since 
Rankin  considered  it  unsafe  to  remain  at  the  house  any 
longer  without  a  stronger  force  of  his  men  in  case  of 
the  sudden  arrival  of  a  large  number  of  the  Germans. 

A  little  conversation  between  the  Chief  and  Warden 
resulted  in  all  of  the  Germans  except  the  two  Fecht 
brothers  and  Wehrbohm — from  whom  Rankin  hoped  to 
get  some  additional  information — being  taken  outside, 
some  two  hundred  feet  from  the  house,  and  there  scien- 
tifically .treated  by  young  Warden.  Harrison  was, 
thereupon,  sent  upon  a  hurried  night  ride  to  the  Pem- 
berton  jail  with  another  car-full  of  inanimate  prison- 
ers, with  instructions  to  get  back  as  quickly  as  possi- 
ble for  the  remainder  of  the  party. 

While  the  first  batch  were  being  taken  to  the  jail, 
Rankin,  assisted  by  Warden,  questioned  Wehrbohm, 
urging  upon  the  man  to  tell  what  he  knew  and  thereby 
save  himself  and  his  fellow  workers  in  the  shop  from 
running  foul  of  the  government.  Wehrbohm,  a  typical, 
stolid  German,  refused  at  first  to  even  notice  the  speech 
of  either  the  detective  or  young  Warden.  Finally  he 
made  reply  that  what  he  had  been  doing  was  for  the 
Fatherland  and  could  not,  therefore,  be  discussed  by 
so  humble  a  subject  as  himself.  When  it  was  pointed 
out  to  him  that  he  would  save  himself,  his  fellow  work- 
ers and  thousands  of  other  Germans  in  America  much 
misery  by  speaking  and  allowing  the  government  to 
take  steps  to  stop  the  work  of  the  conspirators  at  once, 
he  relented  somewhat  and  even  began  to  show  a  small 
degree  of  interest.  It  took  long  and  persistent  ques- 
tioning by  both  Rankin  and  Warden  to  get  together 
an  account  of  the  building  of  the  underground  shop 


THE    PASSPORT  119 

and  of  its  gradual  equipment.  Warden  took  copious 
notes  and  finally  pieced  together  a  more  or  less  com- 
plete narrative. 

The  work  of  building  the  shop  was  begun  seven  years 
before.  It  was  begun  and  continued  from  the  house 
where  they  then  stood  and  it  took  a  long  time  because 
it  had  to  be  done  very  slowly.  Strangers  who  hap- 
pened around  were  turned  away  with  as  little  fuss  as 
possible.  In  hot  weather,  when  boating  parties  often 
came  around  that  way,  the  men  in  the  house  maintained 
a  small  soda-water  stand  in  front  of  the  building  to 
throw  off  any  suspicion.  Wehrbohm  came  to  the  place 
just  as  the  first  work  of  digging  a  shaft  was  about  to 
begin.  The  digging  of  the  shaft  was  a  very  slow  task, 
as  well  as  a  hard  one,  because  it  had  to  be  done  under 
cover  of  the  house.  It  was  particularly  hard  because 
the  dirt  removed  had  to  be  distributed  over  the  sands 
at  night  and  there  was  no  digging  or  hoisting  machin- 
ery possible  at  that  stage  because  they  could  not  use 
steam  or  other  power  that  would  have  called  attention 
to  the  work.  The  earth  was  taken  out  in  buckets,  all 
by  hand,  until  the  shaft  was  deep  enough  to  begin  the 
work  of  installing  the  elevator.  The  steel  pieces  for 
the  lift  as  well  as  for  the  tubular  construction  came 
from  the  city,  piece  by  piece,  in  covered  wagons,  owned 
and  driven  by  those  in  the  conspiracy.  The  pieces 
were  ordered  in  different  steel  plants  and  delivered  to 
different  private  addresses  in  the  city.  The  makers 
did  not  know  where  the  pieces  were  ultimately  destined 
for.  They  received  the  drawings,  from  which  the  pieces 
were  to  be  made,  through  private  individuals.  Fire 
had  to  be  guarded  against  in  the  general  plan  of  avoid- 
ing all  publicity.  Sometimes  row  boats  were  used  for 
the  smaller  material  and  when  the  shaft  was  finished 


120  THE    PASSPORT 

there  had  been  stored  up  in  the  house  a  large  quantity 
of  steel  ready  to  be  bolted  in  place.  The  creating  of 
the  least  suspicion  had  to  be  avoided  or  else  there 
would  have  been  talk  about  the  house  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

"How  was  it  possible  for  you  to  get  electric  light 
down  there  to  work  with,  after  you  had  the  shaft  dug?" 
asked  Warden,  eagerly,  at  one  stage  of  the  questioning. 

"Everything  is  possible — to  the  German  engineers." 
A  semblance  of  fanatical  national  pride  controlled  the 
reply.  "There  was  no  chance  for  them  to  get  electric 
light  from  the  outside  for  the  electric  light  company's 
inspectors  would  have  been  around  on  some  pretext  or 
other  and  then  everything  would  have  become  known. 
So  they  got  the  electricity  out  of  the  ocean.  As  we 
got  more  room  to  work  in  more  men  were  available. 
The  steel  pieces  were  bolted  in  place  and  foot  by  foot 
the  shop  was  built.  When  we  got  one  compartment 
finished  we  put  in  the  air  compressors,  the  power  for 
which  we  obtained  from  storage  cells." 

"But  how  did  you  get  the  storage  cells?"  asked  War- 
iden.  Rankin,  not  being  of  a  mechanical  or  scientific 
mind,  readily  gave  way  to  his  young  aid  in  the  matter 
of  bringing  out  this  technical  information. 

"We  got  electrical  energy  from  the  salt  water  by 
the  use  of  carbon  and  zinc  such  as  form  the  elements 
of  a  salamoniac  battery.  By  having  a  great  number 
of  these  carbon  and  zinc  elements,  and  a  motor  with 
specially  designed  windings,  such  as  we  got,  we  obtained 
enough  energy  to  run  a  direct  current  generator.  This 
generator,  in  turn,  charged  our  storage  batteries  and 
from  these  storage  batteries  we  secured  enough  power 
to  run  our  machinery  and  secure  light.  In  this  way, 
later,  we  solved  the  problem  of  securing  sufficient  mo- 


THE    PASSPORT  121 

live  power  for  our  machine  shop  without  the  necessity 
of  using  steam  or  gasoline  which  would,  of  course,  have 
attracted  attention  from  the  outside.  Once  through 
with  the  first  compartment,  the  building  of  the  next 
was  comparatively  easy  work.  So  on  with  the  third 
and  the  fourth.  It  was  not  so  hard  to  assemble  our 
machinery.  That  was  bought  privately  at  different 
times  by  different  individuals  and  was  carried  here  piece 
by  piece.  Secrecy  had  to  be  observed  in  getting  the 
pieces  into  the  house  but,  once  in  the  house,  it  did  not 
take  long  to  get  them  into  the  shop  and  put  them 
together." 

"And  in  all  this  time  no  strangers  came  this  way?" 
asked  Rankin. 

"I  did  not  say  so,"  replied  the  German.  "Many 
strangers  came  this  way  and  all  were  turned  away 
without  suspicion.  Three  of  them,  about  four  years 
ago,  found  their  way  into  the  house,  saw  too  much  and 
were  commandeered." 

"Commandeered?  How?"  There  was  surprise  in 
the  secret  service  man's  voice. 

"Compelled  to  remain  and  work,"  was  the  laconic 
rejoinder. 

"Just  made  prisoners,  is  that  it?" 

"No,  they  were  Germans  and  so  were  compelled  to 
work  for  their  country,  that's  all.  Only,  they  were 
forced  to  do  so.  They  never  left  the  place  since  they 
came  around  that  day,  four  years  ago — until  now. 
Here's  two  of  them,"  pointing  to  two  of  the  inanimate 
forms  on  the  floor.  "The  other  one  went  in  the  car 
you  sent  away." 

"Where  were  their  homes?"  asked  the  detective,  in- 
credulously. 

"In  the  city,  I  think."     The  German  was  speaking 


122  THE    PASSPORT 

in  a  matter  of  fact  tone.  "Their  folks  were  notified 
that  they  were  safe  but  that  they  could  not  return 
home  for  some  time." 

The  elder  of  the  Fecht  brothers — the  foreman — told 
the  detectives  later  that  Wehrbohm,  like  himself  and 
his  brother,  had  had  enough  of  the  virtual  imprison- 
ment in  the  secret  German  machine  shop  and  was  in- 
clined to  regard  the  coming  of  the  government  officers 
with  philosophical  resignation.  Rankin  had  hopes, 
therefore,  that  the  three  men,  and  possibly  some  of  the 
subordinates  among  the  prisoners,  would  be  able  to  give 
valuable  secret  information  regarding  the  doings  of 
what  appeared  plainly  to  be  a  well-organized  conspir- 
acy against  the  American  government. 

The  automobile  having  returned,  the  remaining  un- 
conscious prisoners  were  placed  in  the  rear  of  the  car 
with  the  three  Germans,  Leighton  and  Warden,  while 
Rankin  took  his  place  by  the  side  of  Harrison.  The 
Chief  did  not  care  to  grant  the  elder  Fecht's  request 
that  he  be  permitted  to  remain  to  guard  the  plant.  As 
there  was  no  way  in  which  Rankin  could  secure  a  force 
of  government  officers  for  the  place  that  night,  he  had 
to  leave  it  unguarded,  trusting  to  luck  that  no  other 
conspirators  should  get  there  before  he  could  send  a 
suitable  squad  of  watchmen  later  in  the  morning.  Cas- 
ual visitors,  even  if  they  broke  into  the  house,  which 
was  unlikely,  would  discover  nothing  since  the  elevator 
platform  was  let  down  flush  with  the  floor,  the  detec- 
tives having  learned  that  a  secret  spring  in  the  kitchen 
room  would  work  the  lift  even  though  there  should  be 
no  one  in  the  shop  below.  The  shutters  were  bolted 
and  the  door  locked — and  quietly  sealed  by  Rankin — 
and  the  party  started  on  its  way  to  the  city,  by  way 
of  Pemberton,  there  to  leave  the  inanimate  prisoners 


THE    PASSPORT  123 

with  the  others  already  in  the  jail.  •  Wehrbohm  and 
the  Fecht  brothers  the  Chief  decided  to  take  to  New 
York  with  him. 

On  the  drive  to  the  city  Warden,  sitting  beside 
Wehrbohm,  secured  additional  and  highly  interesting 
data  from  the  man.  Among  other  things,  he  learned 
that  the  torpedo  boats  announced  their  intention  of 
entering  the  shop  for  repairs  by  means  of  submarine 
signals.  When  on  the  surface  they  spoke  by  wireless 
to  the  house. 

"But  I  saw  no  wireless  equipment  there,"  commented 
the  young  man,  surprised. 

"In  the  attic,  close  to  the  roof,"  replied  the  German. 
"The  antenna  wires  there  lead  down  through  the  chim- 
ney into  the  kitchen." 

"I  did  not  see  anything  of  the  sort  in  the  kitchen," 
expostulated  Warden. 

"You  saw  a  stove  pipe  there,  didn't  you?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,  the  wires  run  through  that  pipe  into  the 
stove,  where  the  receiving  apparatus  is  kept." 

The  stop  at  Pemberton  had  been  made  and  the  car 
was  rolling  over  the  New  Jersey  roads  in  the  direction 
of  the  metropolis.  As  the  lights  of  the  city  came  into 
view  from  an  elevation  on  which  they  were  at  the  time, 
the  eyes  of  the  three  Germans  fairly  popped  out  of 
their  sockets  at  the  sight.  One  of  them,  Wehrbohm, 
had  been  an  exile  from  civilization  for  seven  years. 
The  other  two  had  arrived  in  America  during  the  day- 
time and  had  been  brought  directly  to  the  house  on  the 
dunes  so  that  the  night  illumination  of  a  great  city  was 
a  wonderful  revelation  to  them.  The  amazement  of 
the  three  was  increased  during  the  crossing  of  the  river 
on  the  ferry-boat  and  their  bewilderment  knew  no 


124.  THE    PASSPORT 

bounds  as  the  car  swung  through  the  canyons  formed 
by  the  miles  of  sky-scrapers  on  the  way  to  one  of  the 
uptown  hotels  where  Rankin  proposed  to  put  up  until 
they  could  go  to  the  New  York  headquarters  of  the 
secret  service. 

"All  this,"  remarked  Rankin,  casually,  to  Wehr- 
bohm  and  his  two  German  co-workers,  as  he  swept  his 
hand  around  so  as  to  take  in  all  of  the  surrounding 
architectural  development,  "all  this  your  friends  are 
planning  to  destroy — for  what?" 

Wehrbohm  shrugged  his  shoulders  as  the  only  means 
of  indicating  his  ignorance  of  the  reason. 

"You  knew  that  what  was  being  done  in  your  shop 
was  against  this  country,  didn't  you?"  persisted  the 
secret  service  head. 

"It  was  not  for  us  to  know,"  replied  Wehrbohm. 
"It  was  for  us  to  obey  orders." 

At  the  hotel  the  party  was  installed  in  a  suite  of 
rooms,  Rankin,  Leighton  and  Warden  relieving  each 
other  for  brief  snatches  of  sleep  while  one  always 
guarded  the  three  Germans.  These,  however,  hardly 
needed  a  guard  for  they  slept  like  worn-out  beings  in 
the  first  soft  bed  they  had  known  in  a  long  time. 

Rankin  made  arrangements  early  in  the  day  with 
the  customs  authorities  for  a  squad  of  forty  picked 
men,  to  be  sent  to  the  house  over  the  underground  shop. 
Great  care  was  taken  that  no  man  either  German  born 
or  with  German  sympathies  should  be  among  them  and 
all  of  them  were  sworn  to  the  strictest  secrecy. 

The  Chief  and  Leighton  were,  later  in  the  day,  tak- 
ing the  three  Germans  through  an  outer  office  in  the 
New  York  headquarters  of  the  secret  service  when 
something  occurred  that  caused  Rankin  great  concern. 
It  brought  home,  more  forcibly  even  than  the  discovery 


THE    PASSPORT  125 

of  the  subterranean  machine  shop,  the  knowledge  that 
the  conspiracy  against  the  American  government  was 
as  insidious  as  it  was  wide-spread. 

Rankin  had  opened  the  door  leading  to  the  private 
office  of  the  Chief  of  the  local  division  when  Mosser, 
one  of  the  operatives  who  had  been  identified  with  the 
visit  of  Warden  to  Washington  some  weeks  before, 
came  out  of  the  inner  room. 

Both  Wehrbohm  and  the  elder  of  the  Fecht  brothers 
looked  up  when  they  saw  him  as  he  passed  hurriedly  by 
and  Rankin  noticed  the  expression  of  surprise,  even 
alarm,  on  the  face  of  his  operative. 

"What  is  he  doing  here?"  asked  Wehrbohm,  throw- 
ing a  thumb  mechanically  in  the  direction  taken  by 
Mosser. 

"That  is  one  of  my  men."  Rankin  did  not  himself 
know  why  he  answered  so  anxiously. 

Wehrbohm  cast  a  glance  at  the  Chief  for  a  moment, 
almost  insolently. 

"You  knew  about  the  shop  a  long  time,  then?"  He 
suggested. 

"Not  until  yesterday.  Why  should  we  have  known 
of  it  before?  What  has  that  man,"  pointing  back  to 
the  outer  room  in  the  direction  taken  by  Mosser,  "to 
<io  with  it?" 

"He's  been  around  the  shop  many  times  in  the  last 
couple  of  years.  We  always  took  him  for  one  of  our 
officers.  He  gave  orders  the  same  as  Buhrwein  and 
Schmidt.  Guess  he  wasn't  one  of  your  men,  though, 
for  he  was  the  one  to  send  word  to  get  that  new  war- 
ship the  other  night." 

Leighton,  not  understanding  the  language,  failed  to 
grasp  the  significance  of  Wehrbohm's  words  but  he 
could  plainly  see  that  something  greatly  disturbed  his 


126  THE    PASSPORT 

Chief.  The  latter,  his  face  livid,  gave  orders  for  Leigh- 
ton  to  stay  with  the  three  Germans  and  then  hurried 
out.  A  moment  later  he  re-appeared  with  Mosser, 
whom  he  ushered  into  the  room  where  the  prisoners 
stood  with  Leighton. 

"Here's  your  friend."  The  Chief  addressed  Wehir- 
bohm,  a  queer  smile  on  his  face. 

"Well,  we're  glad  to  see  you  again,"  said  the  Ger- 
man, "how  goes  it?" 

Mosser  tried  hard  to  retain  his  self-assurance.  "The 
man  is  crazy.  He  does  not  know  me.  What  is  he 
talking  about  ?"  He  spoke  huskily  and  there  were  huge 
beads  of  perspiration  on  his  brow. 

"He  says,"  came  sloAvly  from  Rankin  as  he  looked 
searchingly  into  the  face  of  his  uncomfortable  subor- 
dinate, "that  you  have  been  around  a  certain  secret 
machine  shop,  used  for  the  repair  of  German  subma- 
rines, under  the  dunes  of  New  Jersey,  many  times  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years.  How  about  it?" 

Mosser  hesitated  a  moment.  He  saw  that  both 
Wehrbohm  and  the  elder  Fecht  had  disclosed  their  ac- 
quaintance with  him,  for  Fecht  nodded  pleasantly,  with 
a  brief  word  in  German  as  a  greeting. 

"Well,"  in  a  tone  that  was  not  over-confident,  "well, 
I  had  hoped  to  keep  the  matter  quiet  until  I  could  land 
them  good  and  proper,"  he  finally  blurted  out.  "It  was 
a  job  on  my  own  hook  which  I  thought  might  bring 
me  promotion." 

"Promotion  where?"  fairly  hissed  the  Chief.  "In 
the  German  Foreign  Office?" 

"No,  no !"  Mosser's  knees  began  to  give  way  under 
him.  "Right  here,  from — from  you." 

"After  knowing  of  the  thing  for  two  years  you  did 


THE    PASSPORT  127 

not  think  that  the  existence  of  that  plant  in  itself  was 
sufficient  ground  for  action?" 

"I — I  was  already  to  report  on  it,"  stammered 
Mosser. 

"And  I  suppose,"  said  Rankin,  advancing  threaten- 
ingly upon  the  fellow,  "you  were  also  ready  to  report 
on  your  part  in  the  attack  on  the  new  Oklahoma  three 

nights  ago  ?  You "  he  made  as  if  to  strike  the  now 

thoroughly  frightened  Mosser,  "you  damned  scoun- 
drel!" 

Mosser  started  to  back  out  of  the  room. 

"Place  that  fellow  under  arrest!  Shackle  him  and 
shackle  him  good!"  shouted  the  Chief  to  Leighton,  the 
later  almost  stupefied  by  the  revelations  of  the  last 
few  moments. 

Late  that  afternoon  Rankin,  Leighton  and  Warden, 
having  in  their  charge  four  prisoners,  were  on  their 
way  to  Washington  to  lay  the  whole  affair  before  the 
President  and  the  Cabinet. 


CHAPTER   X1 

FOLLOWING  the  bare  announcement,  that  somehow 
leaked  through,  to  the  effect  that  a  new  ruling  by  the 
[War  Department  prohibited  any  military  organization 
from  drilling  with  or  without  arms  and  from  possess- 
ing any  arms  of  any  description,  within  the  confines  of 
the  United  States  without  the  knowledge  and  permis- 
sion of  the  local  Federal  authorities,  the  correspond- 
ents in  Washington  were  sent  scurrying  around  the 
capital  in  search  of  more  detailed  information  on  the 
subject.  There  were,  at  the  same  time,  many  rumors  of 
strong  representations  having  been  made  to  a  foreign 
power  on  some  matter  which  neither  the  President  nor 
the  members  of  his  official  family  would  discuss.  In 
fact,  it  was  given  out  at  the  White  House  and  the  va- 
rious Departments,  that  nothing  unusual  had  occurred 
to  mar  the  even  routine  of  affairs  in  Washington  and 
none  of  the  correspondents  could  say  positively  that 
he  had  found  even  a  suggestion  of  a  secret  conference 
between  the  President  and  his  advisers. 

Had  any  of  the  astute  gatherers  been  about  the  cor- 
ridors of  the  big  Hotel  Powhatan  two  evenings  after 
the  first  announcement  came  from  the  War  office,  they 
would  have  seen  a  man,  with  a  soft  felt  hat  pulled  well 
over  his  head  and  his  coat  collar  turned  up  as  high  as 
it  would  reach,  enter  the  spacious  foyer  of  the  Pow- 
hatan, take  an  elevator  for  an  upper  floor,  and  make 
his  way  to  a  suite  upstairs,  escorted  by  a  secret  service 
operative  who  met  him  at  the  landing. 


THE    PASSPORT  129 

Entering  the  room,  the  newcomer  was  met  by  a  well 
set-up  young  man,  showing  strength  in  both  his  face 
and  physique  but  in  whose  expression  there  was  some- 
thing indicating  great  responsibilities — far  greater 
than  his  evident  youth  seemed  to  warrant.  He  ex- 
tended his  hand  with  a  courteous  inclination  of  the 
head. 

"I  am  very  glad  to  make  your  acquaintance,  Mr. 
Warden,"  spoke  the  visitor,  in  a  low,  pleasant  voice. 
"Very  glad,  indeed,  after  what  I  have  been  told  you 
have  done  in  the  public  service." 

"And  I  am  honored  by  your  visit,  Sir,  and  regret 
only  that  it  was  found  necessary  for  you  to  come  here 
instead  of  my  coming  to  you,"  was  the  reply. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  had  visited  a  private  citizen,  in  Washington, 
on  a  matter  of  the  gravest  importance  to  the  country. 
It  had,  however,  been  decided  that  it  would  be  best  to 
have  this  conference  between  the  nation's  chief  execu- 
tive and  young  Richard  Warden  held  secretly  and  in  a 
place  where  the  alert  correspondents  would  not  be  lia- 
ble to  get  wind  of  it.  The  managers  of  the  Powhatan 
had  not,  therefore,  been  taken  into  the  confidence  of 
the  authorities  and  the  President  made  his  way  to  the 
rooms  of  young  Warden  quite  unobserved.  Only  his 
secretary,  Chief  Rankin  and  his  bodyguard  were  in 
the  secret. 

Warden  went  over  with  the  President  all  of  the  inci- 
dents that  had  begun  with  the  conversation  he  had 
overheard  on  the  top  of  the  omnibus  in  New  York,  and 
ended  with  the  capture  of  the  workmen  in  the  hidden 
machine  shop  under  the  New  Jersey  sand  dunes. 

The  President  was,  evidently,  greatly  impressed  with 
Richard's  narrative.  He  watched  the  young  man 


130  THE    PASSPORT 

closely  and  was  struck  with  the  boy's  earnestness  of 
purpose  and  his  ability  to  cope  with  new  and  startling 
eventualities.  Both  were  at  their  ease. 

While  the  mere  fact  of  having  the  ruler  of  the  nation 
visit  him  on  official  business  instead  of  his  making  the 
visit  on  the  President  would  have  caused  the  average 
youth  either  to  stammer  in  confusion  or  swell  up  with 
importance,  to  Warden  the  situation  was  quite  natural. 
Matters  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  country  were 
under  consideration.  As  these  matters  could  not  be 
solved  without  a  departure  from  established  etiquette, 
it  mattered  little  to  Warden  whether  the  President 
called  on  him  or  he  on  the  President — as  long  as  the 
country  secured  that  which  it  had  a  right  to  demand 
from  her  sons,  which  both  he  and  the  President  were. 

After  a  conference  that  lasted  several  hours,  the 
President  said  that  he  would  like  to  offer  young  War- 
den a  minor  diplomatic  post,  from  which  he  would  be 
able  to  work  up,  some  day,  to  represent  his  country 
abroad.  The  latter  shook  his  head,  however.  "I  re- 
gret that  I  cannot  consider  your  very  generous  offer, 
Mr.  President,"  he  said.  "My  plans  are  such  that  I 
could  not  take  a  government  position,  at  least  at  pres- 
ent. I  cannot  tell  you — yet — of  those  plans  but  I  ded- 
icate their  success  to  you,  Sir,  as  the  advocate  of  peace 
and  good-will  to  others.  I  cannot  do  better  than  to 
wish  that  I  may  return  to  you,  some  day,  after  the  ac- 
complishment of  my  ideals,  and  that  I  may  then  be 
permitted  to  work  out,  with  you,  a  plan  for  the  per- 
petuation of  these  ideals." 

The  President  smilingly  commented  on  this  little 
speech  by  saying  that  Warden  spoke  in  riddles. 

"To  give  you  the  answer  to  the  riddle  now,"  replied 
Warden,  "would  be  to  compromise  your  neutrality  as 


THE    PASSPORT  131 

well  as  that  of  the  United  States.  I  can  promise  you, 
however,"  he  added,  when  he  saw  the  look  of  surprise 
on  the  President's  face,  "that  there  is  nothing  in  my 
plans  that  would  cause  any  peace-loving  man  to  hesi- 
tate adopting  them,  even  though  a  government  might. 
Perhaps,  later,  you  may  find  a  way  for  the  government 
to  adopt  them  also." 

The  President  left  the  Powhatan  as  quietly  and  as 
unobserved  as  he  had  come  and  the  Washington  corre- 
spondents, some  of  them  possibly  at  the  very  moment 
enjoying  themselves  in  the  grill  downstairs,  got  no 
inkling  of  the  strange  meeting  that  had  taken  place 
over  their  very  heads. 

It  was  not  until  a  week  later  that  the  press  of  the 
country  began  to  take  notice  of  the  fact  that  some- 
thing mysterious  was  going  on.  When  reports  came 
in,  from  widely  separated  points,  of  the  seizure  of  arms 
and  ammunition,  often  discovered  in  secret  hiding 
places,  newspaper  statisticians  suddenly  awoke  to  the 
fact  that  there  must  have  been  a  tremendously  large 
military  force  in  the  United  States  about  which  the 
average  citizen  had  never  heard. 

One  morning,  newspaper  readers  were  startled  when 
they  read  that,  in  Milwaukee,  a  depot  containing  some 
thirty  thousand  uniforms,  helmets,  rifles  and  some  three 
million  rounds  of  ammunition,  had  been  raided  by  gov- 
ernment inspectors  and  the  whole  equipment  confis- 
cated. Simultaneously  there  came  reports  from  points 
along  the  Canadian  border,  telling  practically  the  same 
story  and  these  were  followed  by  reports  of  govern- 
ment raids  at  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Pittsburg  and  a 
large  number  of  towns  in  the  eastern  states. 

With  reports  still  coming  in,  the  totals  in  the  num- 
bers of  uniforms,  rifles  and — almost  invariably — the 


132  THE    PASSPORT 

helmets  seized  reached  over  a  million.  Gradually  the 
truth  came  out.  All  this  gigantic  military  equipment 
had  belonged  to  German  quasi-military  organizations, 
sharpshooters'  societies,  vereins  of  this  and  vereins  of 
that.  In  no  case  was  there  the  slightest  hint  that  the 
equipment  was  for  any  other  purpose  than  "social  di- 
version" and,  except  in  cases  where  watchmen  inter- 
fered with  the  raiding  government  officers,  no  arrests 
were  made. 

It  was  not  a  matter  of  public  knowledge,  however, 
that  the  government  had  discovered  and  confiscated  a 
great  submarine  machine  and  repair  plant  for  subma- 
rines within  the  very  harbor  of  New  York  and  another 
in  one  of  the  smaller  and  unfrequented  inlets  on  the 
Florida  coast.  Nor  was  it  generally  known — in  fact 
it  was  not  known  at  all  outside  of  a  very  small  circle 
of  government  officials — that  six  undersea  craft  of 
modern  construction  had  been  found,  fully  equipped 
and  ready  for  instant  use,  lying  on  the  bottom  of  the 
gea  in  these  two  localities. 

So  grave  did  the  President  consider  the  situation 
that  he  did  not  dare  to  make  the  matter  public.  Un- 
usual precautions  were  taken  to  keep  all  knowledge  of 
the  steps  taken  to  thwart  the  secret  enemies  of  the 
country  from  those  who  might  allow  the  truth  to  creep 
out  before  the  government  was  fully  prepared. 

The  news  that  Germany  was  gaining  over  her  allied 
enemies  in  Europe  did  not  tend  to  make  the  President 
and  his  advisers  feel  more  at  ease.  It  was  plainly  with 
German  victory  abroad  in  view  that  the  conspiracy  had 
been  brought  almost  to  a  focus  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  selection  of  those  whom  the  President  consid- 
ered should  be  taken  in  the  administration's  confidence, 
the  greatest  care  had  to  be  taken.  Congressmen  and 


THE   PASSPORT.  133 

Senators  of  known  German  sympathies  were  carefully 
eliminated  and  those  whose  leaning  was  not  absolutely 
known  were  subjected  to  a  searching  inquiry,  outside  of 
their  own  knowledge.  Never  before  had  such  an  emer- 
gency presented  itself  and  every  precedent  was  nullified 
in  the  careful  handling  of  an  extremely  delicate  sit- 
uation. 

Although  it  had  been  proven  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  Chief  of  the  United  States  Secret  Service  that  the 
German  official  representatives  throughout  the  country 
were  fully  aware  of  all  that  was  going  on,  no  steps 
could  be  taken  against  them  without  at  once  showing 
the  hand  of  the  government  and  virtually  leading  to  a 
declaration  of  war. 

This,  the  President  desired  to  prevent  at  all  hazards, 
at  the  cost  of  everything  save  the  humiliation  of  the 
American  government.  For  this  reason  no  attempt 
was  made  to  interfere  with  Von  Stamm,  although  he 
appeared  often  at  the  State  Department  in  his  offi- 
cial capacity  as  "counselor"  to  the  German  Embassy. 
Neither  was  Bachmann  interfered  with,  although  both 
he  and  the  counselor  were  continually  under  the  eye  of 
the  secret  service  men. 

For  the  same  reason,  Berwin — or  Buhrwein — , 
Schmidt  and  three  other  men  were  being  held  in  secret 
confinement,  as  if  the  earth  had  swallowed  them  up,  in 
connection  with  the  attempt  to  destroy  the  new  Ameri- 
can superdreadnought  Oklahoma.  The  plan  of  the 
government  was  to  keep  these  men  in  secret  confine- 
ment until  a  formal  demand  should  be  made  by  the 
German  representative  for  information  regarding  them. 
It  was  the  earnest  hope  of  all  those  in  the  secret,  from 
the  President  down,  that  this  formal  demand  would  be 
delayed,  for  it  could  only  be  followed  by  a  public  reve- 


134  THE    PASSPORT 

lation  and — a  consequent  straining  of  relations  between 
the  United  States  and  the  Kaiser's  government. 

The  President  and  his  little  following  of  confidential 
advisers  were  doing  their  utmost,  in  the  meantime,  to 
prepare  the  country  for  the  shock  that  seemed  inevita- 
ble. 

Unofficially,  official  Washington — or  that  part  of  it 
in  the  great  secret — became  pro-ally  to  the  fullest  de- 
gree. Unofficially,  official  Washington  began  to  hope 
and  pray  for  the  success  of  the  allied  arms  and  for 
Jhe  crushing  of  the  Teutons. 

The  overhearing  of  a  personal  conversation  on  the 
top  of  a  New  York  omnibus  and  the  accidental  dis- 
covery of  a  hidden  inscription  on  the  back  of  a  photo- 
graph had  had  momentous  sequels.  In  fact,  these  two 
little  incidents  in  the  life  of  a  young  college  graduate 
promised  to  have  as  great  effect  on  American  history 
as  the  cackling  of  the  geese  had  on  the  history  of  Rome. 

While  Warden  remained  at  the  Powhatan,  where  he 
received  visits  from  Chief  Rankin  whenever  that  official 
was  in  Washington,  letters  came  regularly  to  him  from 
Mary,  each  of  them  breathing  the  deepest  devotion 
while  unconsciously  reflecting  the  girl's  great  sorrow 
over  the  disgrace  that  had  overtaken  her  family. 

He  had  descended  for  breakfast  on  a  Tuesday  morn- 
ing when  a  letter  was  handed  to  him,  which  stated  that 
Mary  and  her  mother  would  be  in  Washington  that  af- 
ternoon and  would  put  up  at  the  Powhatan  also  during 
their  stay  in  the  capital.  His  heart  leaped  with  delight 
at  the  prospect  of  again  seeing  his  sweetheart  and  he 
was  about  the  corridors  for  hours  before  he  finally  saw 
Mary  and  her  mother  leave  a  motor  car  and  enter  the 
hotel. 


THE    PASSPORT  135 

Any  misgivings  that  he  might  have  felt  over  meeting 
the  mother  were  soon  dispelled  for  Mrs.  Berwin  was 
apparently  glad  to  see  the  young  man  and  quickly  put 
the  latter  at  his  ease. 

"Look  upon  me  merely  as  Mary's  mother,"  she  told 
him.  "Neither  Mary  or  I  are  responsible  for  the  dread- 
ful things  that  have  happened  and  both  of  us  pray 
that  the  plans  that  were  made  under  our  roof  may 
never  see  completion.  We  are  here  on  a  difficult  mis- 
sion, a  very  difficult  one.  We  have  been  told  by  the 
German  Embassy  to  make  a  demand  for  Mr.  Berwin 
or  for  information  regarding  him,  although  neither 
Mary  or  I  had  gone  to  the  German  Embassy  for  assist- 
ance in  regard  to  Mary's  father.  We  thought  we 
would  come  to  you  for  advice,  for  Mary  said  that  you 
would  know  just  what  to  do." 

He  decided  that  the  only  thing  to  do  would  be  to 
have  Mary's  mother  tell  her  story  to  Rankin  and  let 
Rankin  decide  whom  to  consult — either  the  White 
House  or  the  State  Department.  He  thereupon  de- 
spatched a  messenger  to  Rankin's  office  with  a  request 
for  that  official  to  drop  in  at  the  Powhatan  for  an  im- 
portant conference. 

The  Chief  arrived  after  the  three  fia'd  lunched  and 
at  once  began  the  inquiry  that  should  prove  the  first 
step  in  the  airing  of  the  conspiracy  charges. 

Mrs.  Berwin  told  the  story  of  the  conversation  ij 
Washington  the  night  that  Mary  had  overheard  it  and 
which  formed  the  basis  for  Mary's  telegram  to  Richard 
urging  him  to  meet  her  in  New  York  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity. The  "dreadful  thing"  that  Mrs.  Berwin  had 
protested  against  but  which  she  had  not  communi- 
cated to  Mary  when  the  daughter  had  asked  her  about 
it,  was  the  proposed  sinking  of  the  new  Oklahoma  off 


136  THE    PASSPORT 

Sandy  Hook,  which,  as  had  since  been  learned,  had 
been  attempted  unsuccessfully. 

The  woman  declared  that  she  had  no  personal  desire 
to  interfere  in  the  least  degree  with  the  handling  of  the 
case  by  the  American  government  and  further  stated 
that,  inasmuch  as  her  husband  had  formally  become  an 
American  citizen,  had  voted  for  many  years  and  was 
not,  as  far  as  the  United  States  laws  were  concerned,  a 
subject  of  the  German  Emperor,  she  did  not  believe 
the  German  Embassy  had  any  rights  in  the  matter  of 
Mr.  Berwin's  present  predicament.  The  Chief  held  to 
the  same  opinion  and  said  tnat  he  would  at  once  lay 
the  matter  before  the  proper  authorities. 

While  the  inquiry  into  the  status  of  Mr.  Berwin  pro- 
ceeded without  any  apparent  publicity,  Warden  spent 
some  of  the  happiest  days  he  had  yet  known,  in  the 
company  of  Mary  and  her  mother.  Oftentimes  the 
young  chemist  and  his  sweetheart  would  take  long 
jaunts  into  the  surrounding  country  and  the  lives  of 
the  young  couple — which  had,  up  to  the  eventful  even- 
ing in  the  Berwins'  New  York  apartment,  run  in  such 
diametrically  opposite  directions — daily  grew  more 
closely  interwoven. 

On  one  of  these  walks  through  the  suburbs  the  young 
couple  were  witnesses  to  an  occurrence  that  caused  a 
feeling  of  deepest  indignation  to  sweep  over  the  country 
among  loyal  Americans.  It  was  about  ten  o'clock  in 
the  forenoon  when,  far  to  the  eastward,  a  great,  gray 
object  was  seen  in  the  sky.  Cigar-shaped  and  with  a 
trail  of  vapor  in  its  wake,  the  object  sailed  through 
the  skies  in  a  due  westerly  direction  and  Warden  soon 
made  out  a  huge  balloon  of  the  Zeppelin  type. 

Everywhere  in  the  vicinity  the  wildest  excitement 
prevailed.  The  airship  was  coming,  apparently,  di- 


THE   PASSPORT  137 

rectly  over  Washington.  As  it  moved,  at  a  consider- 
able height,  over  the  country  where  Mary  and  Warden 
found  themselves,  little  rolls  of  paper  with  weights 
attached  fluttered  to  earth.  One  of  these  little  rolls 
was  picked  up  by  a  man  nearby  where  they  were  stand- 
ing, and  the  finder  unrolled  the  paper  tube  in  Warden's 
and  Mary's  presence. 

A  message,  very  evidently  set  up  in  type  in  Ger- 
many, was  printed,  in  English,  on  the  paper.  They 
read  : 

We  are  on  our  way  to  visit  the  Pacific 
Coast.  Sorry  we  cannot  stop  for  a  visit — 
now.  This  Zeppelin  is  the  "Deutschland 
Uber  Alles."  Auf  wiedersehn! 

"Another  sample  of  German  arrogance  and  heedless- 
ness  of  the  recognized  rules  of  war,"  commented  War- 
den. "They  know  as  well  as  anybody  that  an  airship 
of  a  belligerent  must  not  fly  over  neutral  territory 
and  yet  they  brazenly  send  a  Zeppelin  over  the  country 
just  to  show  that  they  can  do  it." 

The  dirigible  was  a  monster  affair — probably  the 
newest  Zeppelin,  secretly  built  for  long-distance  travel 
— and  went  through  the  air  without  perceptible  move- 
ment. There  appeared  to  be  an  armored  "cabin" 
underneath  the  gas  bag  and  Warden  imagined  he  saw 
a  gun  barrel  protruding  at  one  end. 

That  same  afternoon  reports  came  from  various 
places  in  southern  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  telling 
of  the  overhead  passage  of  the  balloon  and  the  finding 
of  the  printed  messages  on  the  ground,  showing  that 
the  airship  was  travelling  at  high  speed.  From  one 
Ohio  town  came  the  still  more  sinister  information  that 
the  Zeppelin  had  made  a  landing  in  a  lonely  section 


138  THE    PASSPORT 

nearby  and  taken  on  a  quantity  of  fuel  and  provisions 
which  had,  evidently,  been  awaiting  the  German  dirigi- 
ble's coming! 

Then,  several  days  later,  came  the  report  of  the 
Zeppelin's  flight  over  San  Francisco  and  other  Pacific 
Coast  ports  and  its  departure  in  the  direction  of 
Mexico. 

Representations  made  by  the  Washington  govern- 
ment to  Mrs.  Berwin,  as  had  been  previously  arranged, 
showed  beyond  a  doubt  that  her  husband  was  an  Ameri- 
can citizen  and  that,  if  any  official  demand  should  be 
made  by  the  German  government  on  his  behalf,  Mr. 
Berwin  would  be  placed  in  the  position  of  being  consid- 
ered a  dangerous  spy.  It  was  pointed  out  to  Mrs.  Ber- 
win that  it  would  be  better  for  her  to  let  the  govern- 
ment take  its  course  quietly  and  in  due  form.  Mrs. 
Berwin,  it  had  also  been  arranged,  should  show  this 
reply  to  her  demands  if  she  were  again  asked  about  it 
by  the  German  Embassy  and  it  was  expected  by  the 
Federal  authorities  that,  in  this  way,  an  official  break 
with  the  German  representatives  could  be  avoided. 

Because  of  the  critical  state  of  affairs  in  his  own 
country,  Warden  had  deferred  his  departure  for  Eu- 
rope for  several  months  and  the  snow  was  beginning  to 
disappear — with  mild,  spring  weather  taking  the  place 
of  the  bleak,  wintry  blasts — when  the  reports  from  the 
European  battle-fields  again  told  of  fresh  onslaughts 
by  both  sides  with  consequent  tremendous  loss  of  life. 
The  cabled  stories  were  ominous  in  the  extreme,  from 
the  American  viewpoint.  Holland  was  finally  being 
dragged  into  the  struggle,  because  the  Germans,  des- 
perately in  need  of  an  opening  to  the  North  Sea  oppo- 
site the  British  shores,  were,  according  to  rumors,  pre- 
paring to  force  her  eastern  frontier  as  well  as  the 


THE   PASSPORT  139 

southern  boundary  between  the  Netherlands  and  Bel- 
gium. With  Austria  no  longer  to  be  counted  on  as  an 
ally  because  of  the  Italian  horde  piling  over  her  south- 
ern lines,  Germany  was  preparing,  so  the  reports  had 
it,  for  one  great  blow  at  Britain  and,  to  this  end,  had 
decided  to  overrun  Holland  as  she  had  overrun  unfor- 
tunate Belgium.  The  result  was  that  the  interned  Brit- 
ish and  Belgian  soldiers  within  the  Dutch  boundaries 
were  hastily  equipped  to  assist  the  Hollanders  in  the 
defense  of  the  little  kingdom  while  the  interned  Ger- 
man troops  were  ordered  transferred  to  the  island  of 
Texel. 

Through  the  irony  of  Fate,  the  vessel  that  was  sent 
as  a  troopship  with  1,700  German  soldier-prisoners 
from  Rotterdam  to  Texel  was  torpedoed  by  a  German 
submarine  and  thus  the  first  blow  at  Holland  cost  sev- 
enteen hundred  German  lives  without  a  casualty  among 
the  Dutch  crew.  The  latter,  being  able  to  get  to  their 
boats,  saved  themselves  but  could  not  assist  the  pris- 
oners, who  had  all  been  kept  below  decks  on  the  voyage. 

In  the  absence  of  any  formal  hostilities  the  torpe- 
idoing  of  the  Dutch  ship  was  declared  to  have  been  an 
"unintentional  attack  upon  a  neutral"  by  the  Berlin 
government  which,  however,  in  the  same  breath  falsely 
declared  that  the  Dutch  skipper  had  maliciously  dis- 
played the  British  colors  so  as  to  invite  disaster  upon 
the  German  prisoners. 

The  new  condition  abroad  decided  Warden  and,  not- 
withstanding the  pleadings  of  Mary  Berwin,  he  made 
preparations  to  leave  for  the  other  side  without  delay. 
Every  day,  also,  the  tension  in  Washington  became 
greater.  The  German  government,  plainly  chagrined 
over  the  miscarriage  of  its  plans  within  the  American 
territory,  became  more  and  more  insistent  in  its  demands 


140  THE    PASSPORT 

upon  the  United  States  for  an  apology  and  repara- 
tion, because  of  the  action  against  the  German- Ameri- 
can societies.  There  was  every  evidence  that  the  Kai- 
ser's government  would  not  be  satisfied  with  any  reply 
the  United  States  might  make  and  that  the  demand 
for  an  apology  and  reparation  was  a  mere  subterfuge. 
Hardly  was  there  a  day  that  some  suspicious  char- 
acter was  not  apprehended  within  one  of  the  military 
reservations  and  the  United  States  Secret  Service  found 
its  duties  multiplied  in  ferreting  out  apparently  irre- 
sponsible persons  all  along  the  American  coast.  Innu- 
merable surveying  parties,  without  any  logical  reason 
for  making  their  calculations,  were  driven  from  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  time  and  again  and  it  was  all  too 
plain  that  a  great  secret  machine  was  at  work  with  an 
insistence  and  persistency  that  was,  to  say  the  least, 
disquieting. 

In  New  York  Harbor  the  Commissioner  of  Docks,  a 
big  man,  intensely  patriotic  and  of  great  capability,  was 
requested  to  co-operate  with  the  Federal  authorities  in 
locating  and  reporting  on  any  suspicious  activities 
among  the  great  piers  which  the  Commissioner  had  pro- 
vided for  New  York's  gigantic  shipping  interests,  and 
this  new  line  of  inquiry  and  investigation  resulted  in 
the  discovery  of  a  large  number  of  fresh  conspiracies. 
The  arrest  of  a  dozen  men  disclosed  the  existence  of  a 
vast  system  of  espionage  in  the  harbor.  Papers  were 
found  showing  that  the  German  foreign  office  had,  with- 
out a  doubt,  a  most  comprehensive  idea  of  the  landing 
facilities  in  and  about  New  York  for  troops  and  had 
also  provided  for  their  protection  by  means  of  a  series 
of  gun  foundations  which  had,  apparently,  always  been 
in  full  public  view  without  ever  having  been  suspected. 
On  the  western  shore  of  the  Hudson,  for  instance, 


THE    PASSPORT  141 

new  pier-ends  on  the  structures  used  for  a  long  time 
by  German  transatlantic  lines,  were  found  to  be  of 
solid  concrete  down  to  rock  bottom  and  capable  of 
bearing  the  heaviest  of  guns.  These  guns,  trained  on 
New  York,  could  effectually  wipe  out  the  famous  New 
York  sky-line  without  a  shot  being  fired  in  return. 

No  one  had  given  these  concrete  pier-ends  a  thought. 
Thousands  upon  thousands  of  Americans,  waving  fare- 
wells and  bon  voyage  to  their  friends,  had  stood  on 
these  great  foundations.  American  army  officers  and 
American  naval  officers  had  stood  on  them  without  an 
inkling  of  the  truth  and  the  seemingly  splendid  pier 
structures  on  the  New  Jersey  side  of  the  river  had 
been  the  subject  of  much  praise  for  the  alert  and  en- 
terprising German  steamship  lines. 

It  was  not  until  the  Commissioner  of  Docks,  acting 
as  a  Federal  officer  for  the  time  being,  investigated 
these  mammoth  foundations  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Hudson,  that  the  truth  became  apparent  and  what 
had  once  been  looked  upon  as  a  civil  achievement  be- 
came a  military  menace  to  the  Port  of  New  York. 

An  innocent-looking  German  inn,  which  for  several 
years  had  been  a  popular  eating  place  on  the  top  of 
Staten  Island's  loftiest  hill,  was  found  to  be  resting  on 
a  foundation  of  stone  that  could  support  the  heaviest 
of  howitzers. 

Two  great  wireless  plants,  for  several  years  believed 
to  have  been  the  outcome  of  German  commercial  pro- 
gressiveness,  were  found  to  have  been  established  on 
American  soil  with  a  well-defined  idea  that  they  would, 
later,  prove  a  valuable  asset  to  Germany  in  the  war  of 
conquest  she  was  even  then  planning.  Both  plants  were 
taken  over  by  the  American  government  "to  enforce 
neutrality" — so  the  public  was  told — a  reason  that  was 


142  THE    PASSPORT 

too  transparent,  in  view  of  the  general  knowledge  of 
German  espionage  in  the  United  States,  to  deceive  those 
who  followed  the  quiet  activities  of  the  ^Washington 
officials. 

The  interchange  of  "conversations"  between  Wash- 
ington and  Berlin  became  more  and  more  frequent  and 
pressing — the  latter  tendency  being  entirely  on  the  side 
of  Berlin — the  friendly  and  conciliatory  tone  of  the 
American  notes  eliciting  no  response  in  kind  from  the 
German  Foreign  Office. 

When  Richard  Warden  left  Washington  on  the  af- 
ternoon of  Wednesday,  with  the  intention  of  taking  the 
Autania  from  New  York  on  the  Saturday  following,  it 
was  an  open  question  as  to  whether  he  would  find  the 
American  passport,  that  he  carried,  of  any  value  if  he 
should  fall  into  German  hands. 

That  was  the  official  view. 

Americans  throughout  the  country,  unable  to  read 
between  the  lines  of  the  involved  diplomatic  corre- 
spondence and  ignorant  of  the  discovery  of  the  deep- 
rooted  conspiracies  made  by  the  government,  poo-booed 
the  idea  of  a  break  and  felt  secure  in  the  belief  that  the 
President  would  be  able  to  adjust  matters. 


CHAPTER  XI 
i 

THE  morning  after  his  departure  from  Washington 
Warden  found  himself  in  the  Berkshire  homestead,  hav- 
ing taken  the  night  train  from  the  city  in  order  to  pay 
his  father  and  aunt  a  hurried  farewell  visit  before  his 
sailing  for  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Confident  of 
his  ability  to  carry  his  plans  through  to  a  successful 
issue,  he  did  not  minimize  the  dangers  that  undoubt- 
edly would  beset  his  travels.  He  desired,  therefore,  to 
prepare  everything  so  that,  in  the  event  of  disaster 
overtaking  him,  the  product  of  his  brain  should  not  be 
lost  to  the  world.  A  thorough  understanding  with  his 
father  was  one  of  the  necessities  in  connection  with 
this  arrangement.  He  had  given  himself  but  a  meagre 
four  hours  for  this  interview  inasmuch  as  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  trip  would  require  every  moment  of 
the  thirty-six  hours  prior  to  the  steaming  of  the 
Autania. 

His  father  and  he  were  closeted  in  the  latter's  labo- 
ratory for  several  hours  immediately  following  break- 
fast that  morning,  for  which  meal  Richard  had  arrived 
in  good  season.  The  young  man's  plans  evidently 
gripped  the  elder  Warden  intensely  for  there  was  an 
admiring  look  in  his  eyes  as  he  went  over  the  papers 
and  instructions  with  his  son  and  it  was  with  unmis- 
takable pride  that  he  grasped  young  Richard's  hands 
when  the  interview  was  over.  The  sheet  containing 
instructions  was  apparently  a  most  important  docu- 
ment for  several  times  Richard  pointed  out  to  the  elder 


144  THE    PASSPORT 

Warden  that  a  copy  of  it  should  be  placed  in  a  safe 
place,  outside  the  house,  in  case  the  original  should  be 
destroyed  by  fire  or  other  accident. 

"My  life  depends  upon  those  instructions,  father," 
said  the  young  man  earnestly. 

"Yes,  I  quite  understand  that  it  does,  my  boy,"  was 
the  father's  equally  earnest  reply.  "I  am  proud  of 
you,  Richard,"  he  added,  straightening  up.  "Mighty 
proud  of  you.  You  have,  so  far,  surpassed  my  fondest 
hopes.  Heaven  grant  that  you  may  be  successful  in 
your  mission.  If  your  good  mother  could  only  see  you 
now.  How  proud  she  would  be  of  you !" 

"Mother  does  see  me,  father,"  quickly  responded  the 
young  man.  "She  looks  down  upon  me  from  Heaven, 
that  angel  of  a  mother.  I  have  worked  with  her  aid 
always ;  she  has  been  very  close  to  me,  indeed,  while  I 
have  thought  and  thought  over  the  problems  that  I 
was  trying  to  solve.  I  am  sure  that  it  was  mother's 
help  that  brought  me  to  success  and  I  am  just  as  posi- 
tive as  I  can  be  that  she  will  watch  over  me  wherever  I 
may  go.  She  has  been  and  always  will  be  my  inspi- 
ration." 

Aunt  Elizabeth,  although  not  understanding  in  the 
least  the  object  or  the  sense  in  her  nephew  undertaking 
a  journey  to  war-ridden  Europe,  appreciated  enough 
of  the  danger  that  such  a  trip  provided  to  make  her 
deeply  regretful  that  a  Warden  should  so  deliberately 
put  his  life  in  jeopardy.  She  shed  a  great  many  bitter 
tears,  therefore,  when  it  came  time  for  him  to  leave  the 
parental  roof  and  declared  that  she  had  never,  in  all 
her  life,  had  such  a  succession  of  shocks  as  since  the 
day  that  Richard  left  college.  She  begged  her  nephew 
— if  he  could  not  reconsider  his  determination  to  risk 
his  skin  among  the  blood-thirsty  Europeans — to  cut 


THE    PASSPORT  145 

his  European  visit  short  and  return  to  the  Berkshires 
and  a  peaceful,  quiet  existence  among  the  potatoes  and 
the  mangy  chickens. 

Mary  Berwin  and  her  mother  had  returned  to  New 
York  and  young  Warden  had  arranged  to  dine  with 
them  on  the  Thursday  evening  that  he  returned  from 
the  visit  to  his  father.  When  he  arrived  in  the  city, 
however,  the  young  man  found  a  caller  awaiting  him 
at  the  little  hotel  where  he  had  put  up  before  and 
where  he  still  held  an  equity  in  the  shape  of  a  case  of 
chemical  apparatus,  safely  hidden  away  in  a  dark  re- 
cess of  the  coat-checking  room. 

The  incident  of  the  secret  service  raid  and  the  re- 
moval of  his  valise  and  camera  box  had  long  since  been 
explained  to  the  hotel  manager  by  Chief  Rankin,  so 
that  he  was  as  welcome  as  the  flowers  in  May  when  he 
once  more  stepped  into  the  hostelry  late  that  Thurs- 
day afternoon. 

His  caller  was  David  Lindsey,  one -of  his  college 
class,  who  had  come  as  the  bearer  of  an  imperative  or- 
der for  him  to  join  some  of  his  classmen  in  a  little  bon 
voyage  dinner  that  had  been  hurriedly  arranged  when  it 
was  learned  that  he  was  going  abroad.  Now,  it  is  an 
unwritten  but  nevertheless  one  of  the  most  binding  of 
obligations  that  one's  alma  mater  has  the  first  claim 
on  one's  time  and  attention  and  he  had,  therefore,  to 
relinquish  any  intention  of  dining  with  Mary  and  her 
mother  that  evening.  Mary,  being  a  sensible  girl, 
readily  understood  the  situation  and  said  that  she 
would  be  satisfied  with  a  telephone  call,  after  the 
alumni  supper,  a  feminine  precaution  often  taken  to 
insure  masculine  abstemiousness  and  restraint  at  fes- 
tive occasions.  In  Warden's  case  this  was  not,  how- 
ever, the  basis  for  the  request.  While  in  every  way  a 


146  THE    PASSPORT 

spirited  and  wholesome  type  of  American  youth,  he  had 
always  observed  the  strictest  temperance  and  it  could 
hardly  be  thought  likely  that,  on  the  eve  of  so  momen- 
tous an  undertaking  as  he  had  mapped  out  for  himself, 
he  would  permit  his  brain  to  be  clouded  even  by  an 
alumni  banquet. 

In  a  private  dining  room  on  an  upper  floor  of  one  of 
the  well-known  restaurants  of  the  city  some  thirty  of 
his  class  awaited  his  arrival  with  young  Lindsey. 
When  he  arrived  he  was  made  the  subject  of  an  ova- 
tion such  as  only  college  men  can  give  vent  to.  It  con- 
sisted largely  of  the  rattling  of  small  tin  cans  half- 
filled  with  pebbles,  the  blowing  of  horns  and  a  large 
amount  of  shouting. 

"Three  cheers  for  the  traveller  whom  war  and  the 
German  pirates  can't  scare  off!"  was  the  opening  cry 
after  he  had  shaken  hands  with  half  of  the  gathered 
friends.  They  ^vere  given  with  an  enthusiasm  that 
threatened  to  dd  damage  to  the  building  through  sim- 
ple vibration.  "Now  three  cheers  for  the  grand  old 
college  that  produced  such  a  valiant  traveller!"  was 
the  next  suggestion  and  again  the  walls  were  shaken 
while  the  thirty  odd  college  men  augmented  their  appe- 
tites through  vibratory  massage. 

There  was  the  usual  hub-bub  of  conversation  during 
the  earlier  stages  of  the  meal  with  the  waiters  quietly 
replacing  the  dishes  and  table  silver  as  course  after 
course  was  negotiated  by  the  assembled  guests.  There 
were  any  number  of  inquiries  as  to  the  reason  for  the 
journey  that  Warden  had  undertaken,  all  of  which 
the  latter  parried  by  saying  that  he  had  just  set  his 
mind  on  seeing  how  things  looked  in  the  war  zone  for 
himself  instead  of  getting  his  information  from  the 
newspapers.  There  was,  also,  much  clinking  of  glasses 


THE    PASSPORT  147 

and,  in  some  quarters,  an  exuberance  of  hilarity  not 
entirely  due  to  the  mere  fact  of  Warden's  going.  But 
he  himself  kept  strict  eye  on  his  glass  and  the  sum  total 
of  his  imbibition  at  the  end  of  the  meal  were  not  over 
half  a  dozen  sips.  With  the  coffee  on  the  table  there 
came  the  inevitable  demand  for  a  speech.  He  tried  hard 
to  avoid  it,  saying  that  he  had  never  been  able  to  face 
an  assemblage  and  retain  his  power  of  speech  at  the 
same  time.  He  was  helped  to  his  feet,  kept  to  his  feet 
and  told  to  say  something — anything. 

"I  cannot  make  a  speech,  boys,"  he  pleaded.  "I  never 
did  such  a  thing  in  my  life." 

"Make  a  try  at  it,  Dick.  Talk  about  the  cruelty  of 
the  war  or  something.  That's  your  pet  subject,"  cried 
one  irrelevant  soul.  "I  feel  cruel  myself  just  now  af- 
ter annihilating  this  dinner." 

"Don't  praise  the  Kaiser,  Dickie!  Be  neutral  1" 
came  from  the  other  end  of  the  room. 

"But  I  tell  you  I  cannot  talk  in  public,"  he  expos- 
tulated. Then,  more  seriously,  "Besides,  I  do  not  think 
the  war  should  be  a  subject  of  levity.  We  here,  in  a 
joyous,  care-free  mood,  cannot  appreciate  what  agon- 
ies are  being  suffered  on  those  battle-fields.  No,  let  us 
keep  the  war  out  of  our  talks  this  evening." 

"Why  should  we?"  shouted  a  thoughtless  youth. 
"We  are  not  having  a  war — we  know  enough  to  keep 
out  of  that  sort  of  thing !" 

"Don't  be  so  sure  of  that,"  was  Warden's  quick  re- 
joinder. His  antipathy  against  talking  seemed  to  be 
disappearing.  "Don't  be  too  sure  of  that,  Gardner. 
It  is  not  beyond  all  possibility  that,  before  the  week  is 
over,  our  own  country  will  face  a  condition  such  as 
Belgium  did,  such  as  Holland  may  be  facing  any  mo- 
ment. If  we,  who  stand  here  to-night,  far  away  from 


148  THE    PASSPORT 

the  bloody  fields  of  Belgium  and  France,  fully  trusting 
in  our  immunity  from  the  war  menace,  knew  the  inside 
facts  we  might  possibly  be  looking  on  the  future  with 
somewhat  heavier  hearts."  His  words  and  his  manner 
caused  a  hush  among  the  boisterous  college  men.  Only 
one  or  two  maintained  a  careless  demeanor  and  kept  up 
their  good-natured  sky-larking.  "Before  I  am  very 
far  across  the  Atlantic,"  continued  the  young  speaker, 
"you  here  in  New  York,  or  along  the  New  England 
coast,  or  the  New  Jersey  coast,  may  hear  the  rumbling 
of  the  artillery,  the  assembling  of  the  troops  and  the 
first  warnings  of  an  invasion,  even  as  Liege,  Louvain 
and  the  other  border  cities  of  Belgium  did — without 
any  previous  hint  of  coming  disaster.  We  do  not  know 
all  that  our  President  knows  and  we  do  not  know  how 
close  we  are  to  having  a  cruel  and  merciless  war  thrust 
upon  us.  We  are  laughing  at  war  now.  We  think  it 
impossible  that  the  thing  could  happen.  Remember 
that  Europe  laughed  at  war  also  and  nobody  believed 
that  Germany  would  even  think  of  antagonizing  the 
whole  world  up  to  the  very  day  that  war  was  actually 
declared.  Remember  that  we  are  wholly  unprepared. 
If  France,  with  a  standing  army  of  many  hundreds  of 
thousand  trained  soldiers,  was  caught  unawares,  and  at 
a  decided  disadvantage,  how  much  more  serious  is  our 
position,  with  a  handful  of  regulars  and  absolutely  none 
of  the  great  modern  defenses  that  the  more  or  less 
military  nations  of  Europe  had  at  their  command.  The 
rumblings  that  we  are  to-day  carelessly  smiling  at  may, 
to-morrow  morning,  develop  into  a  terrific  storm.  If 
that  storm  comes,  without  giving  us  time  to  prepare  for 
it,  we  are  facing  a  struggle  in  every  way  as  terrible 
and  bloody  as  the  one  that  has  been  staggering  Europe 
these  eight  months.  Personally,  I  believe  Germany  is 


THE    PASSPORT  149 

trying  to  force  a  war  on  the  United  States  and " 

One  of  the  diners,  some  little  distance  away  from 
where  Warden  was  standing  behind  his  chair,  jumped 
to  his  feet. 

"You  stop  that !  Do  you  hear  me?  You  stop  that !" 
he  shouted.  "Any  man  who  says  that  about  Germany 

is  a  li "     Several  of  the  other  young  men  tried  to 

stop  the  interruptor.     The  latter  tried  hard  to  keep 
up  his  tirade. 

"Why,  Charlie  Hartung!"  There  was  deep  reproacn 
in  Warden's  voice  as  he  turned  to  the  one  who  had 
caused  the  interruption.  "We  are  all  Americans,  are 
we  not?  All  born  here  and  the  fathers  of  most  of  us 
were  born  here,  too.  You  have  no  reason  for  acting 
that  way." 

"I'm  born  here  alright  enough,"  loudly  replied  Har- 
tung. "But  no  man  can  say  a  thing  against  Germany 
or  the  Kaiser  without  taking  a  chance  with  me!"  he 
added,  with  a  threatening  gesture.  "Say,"  he  sneered, 
"if  you're  so  sure  Germany  is  going  to  declare  war  on 
us,  why  don't  you  stay  here  and  fight?" 

"I  cannot  tell  you  why  I  am  leaving  the  country  just 
at  this  time  but  it  may  be — and  I  firmly  believe  it  will 
be — that  when  I  return,  God  willing,  you  who  are  here 
to-night  will  agree  that  I  was  justified  in  going.  All 
of  you  except,  perhaps,  Hartung,"  and  Warden  could 
not  repress  a  smile  as  he  spoke  the  last  words. 

"Dickie's  going  to  save  the  country,"  murmured  one 
young  chap.  "Dickie's  going  to  be  like  the  little  boy 
who  placed  his  thumb  over  the  break  in  the  dyke  and 
saved  Holland !"  Which  pleasantry  brought  some 
good-natured  laughter  and  broke  the  unpleasant  ten- 
sion caused  by  Hartung's  outburst. 

"Do  you  think  you  will  be  able  to  induce  the  soldiers 


150  THE    PASSPORT 

to  quit  fighting,  Dick?"  laughingly  asked  one  of  the 
diners,  as  he  looked  up  at  Warden  from  across  the 
table. 

"If  it  were  possible  to  get  at  the  soldiers — all  of 
them — and  put  it  to  a  vote,  the  fighting  would  be  over 
to-morrow.  The  German  soldiers  are  fighting  because 
they  are  driven  to  it.  A  German  follows  orders  blindly. 
It  is  taught  him  as  soon  as  he  learns  to  understand 
anything.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  the  German  baby 
never  cries  needlessly  after  his  first  year.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  he  is  a  thoroughly  disciplined  baby.  The 
French  and  Belgium  soldiers  are  fighting  to  defend 
their  countries.  The  British  soldiers  are  fighting  for 
future  salvation  for  it  would  be  their  turn  to  repel  in- 
vaders if  the  Germans  could  overwhelm  the  Belgians 
and  the  French.  But  neither  the  German  soldiers,  the 
Belgian,  French  nor  the  British  soldiers  hold  any  ill- 
feeling  against  each  other.  We  have  proof  of  that  in 
the  reports  from  the  front,  telling  us  of  concerts  and 
entertainments  in  which  the  rank  and  file  of  the  oppos- 
ing forces  join  after  their  day's  work  is  over.  The 
day's  work !  That  is  how  those  misguided  soldiers  look 
upon  their  military  duty.  Much  like  the  pig-stickers 
in  the  slaughtering  houses.  If,  instead  of  having  war 
declared  by  the  heads  of  the  nations,  or  by  the  so-called 
representatives  of  the  people  at  large,  the  people  at 
large  themselves  were  called  upon  to  vote  for  or  against 
it,  there  would  not  be  any  war.  And,  even  if  there 
should  be  a  majority  in  favor  of  war,  there  would 
still  be  another  way  to  prevent  hostilities  by  simply 
providing  that  this  majority  should  be  immediately  en- 
listed while  the  minority  should  be  exempt.  With  that 
provision,  I  am  sure  there  never  would  be  a  war  major- 
ity !  The  only  ones  in  Europe  to-day  who  really  desire 


THE    PASSPORT  151 

to  continue  the  struggle  are  the  heads  of  Kaiser  Wil- 
helm's  government.  If  someone  could  bring  about  the 
impossibility  of  further  fighting  between  the  soldiers 
of  the  opposing  forces,  the  soldiers  themselves  would 
hail  that  state  of  affairs  with  delight.  That  may  yet 
be  brought  about.  Every  day  makes  something  possible 
that  seemed  impossible  the  day  before." 

"You'll  see  it  through,  Dick !  Stick  to  your  hobby !" 
came  from  two  of  his  more  intimate  friends,  as  he 
stopped  a  moment  in  his  discourse. 

"Yes,  fellows,  I  have  a  hobby,  just  as  all  of  us  have 
a  hobby  of  some  kind  or  other,"  spoke  Warden  again, 
now  thoroughly  at  ease  in  his  speechmaking.  "Mine  is 
the  problem  of  human  aggression  towards  its  kind  as 
weighed  against  the  true  brotherhood  of  man.  We  all 
suspect  our  fellows  of  some  ulterior  purpose.  Look  at 
Charlie  Hartung!  Ready  to  fight  me,  I  am  sure,  be- 
cause I  hold  one  opinion  and  he  another.  Have  you 
ever  stopped  to  consider  how  many  would  be  out  of 
their  present  positions  if  men  could  trust  each  other? 
What  a  splendid  thing  it  would  be  if  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  dishonesty  or  aggression  in  the  world.  We 
would  not  need  any  policemen,  or  detectives,  or  inspec- 
tors to  watch  over  street-car  and  train  conductors, 
cashiers  to  see  that  you  paid  the  proper  amount  for 
your  meals  in  restaurants  or  a  thousand  and  one  others 
in  positions  intended  solely  for  the  subjugation  of  the 
criminal  instincts  of  some  of  us.  These  waiters  around 
us  to-night,"  sweeping  his  arm  about  the  room  to  in- 
dicate the  servitors  in  white  aprons  ranged  along  the 
walls,  "these  waiters  are  probably  all  honest  and  con- 
scientious men.  Take  my  friend  here,  for  example." 
Warden  placed  his  arm  over  the  shoulder  of  the  near- 
est waiter,  a  heavy- jawed  individual  who  did  not  seem 


152  THE    PASSPORT 

to  relish  in  the  least  the  distinction  of  being  specifi- 
cally pointed  to  as  a  living  proof  of  the  speaker's 
words.  "I  am  sure  that  my  friend  here  is  an  honest 
man.  Now,  he  cannot,  because  of  the  natural  human 
aggression  instilled  in  the  heart  of  the  proprietor  of 
this  place,  get  a  single  dish  out  of  the  kitchen  without 
it  being  checked  off  by  the  chef,  for  fear  that  he  may 
be  favoring  a  particular  diner.  Again,  for  fear  the 
chef  may  be  in  collusion  with  him,  another  checker  out- 
side the  kitchen  passes  on  the  first  check.  Once  more, 
for  fear  the  checker  may  be  in  collusion  with  the  chef 
and  the  waiter,  a  cashier  must  check  off  the  dish  and 
because  the  cashier  may  also,  possibly,  be  in  the  con- 
spiracy, he  or  she  is  heavily  bonded."  The  heavy- 
jawed  waiter  was  wriggling  from  Warden's  friendly 
arm  and  the  audible  remark  of  another  waiter  who 
said  "Look  at  Henry"  to  a  fellow  servant,  did  not 
make  Henry  look  any  better  pleased  over  the  incident. 

"That  is  only  one  result  of  human  aggression.  It 
is  one  of  the  petty  results,"  continued  Warden.  "The 
bigger  results  are  to  be  seen  on  the  firing  lines  in  Eu- 
rope. It  should  be  stopped  and  it  is  going  to  be 
stopped,  I  am  sure.  I  hope  to  see  an  American  take 
the  first  step  in  this  direction,  boys.  You  may  see  it 
happen  before  I  return  to  you.  If  I  am  allowed  to  re- 
turn safely  to  my  own  glorious  country  I  hope  to  have 
you  all  as  my  guests  at  the  next  alumni  dinner !" 

There  was  much  noise  as  all  of  his  friends  crowded 
about  him,  following  his  maiden  effort  as  an  after-din- 
ner speaker.  Hartung  was  still  scowling  and  when 
Warden  went  to  him  with  extended  hand  the  former 
took  the  proffered  greeting  in  bad  grace. 

"Here's  to  Richard  the  Third,  American  Dictator 
and  Liberator!"  came  the  toast  from  somewhere  down 


the  table  as  one  of  the  diners  climbed  on  a  chair  and 
raised  his  glass. 

There  was  no  hint  of  sarcasm  in  the  tone  in  which 
the  toast  was  suggested.  Something  in  Warden's  earn- 
estness had  impressed  this  light-hearted,  careless  group 
of  young  Americans  and,  while  they  did  not  actually 
mean  what  was  represented  in  the  title  given  their  fel- 
low alumnus,  the  title  was  not  given  jestingly. 

In  the  noise  of  the  clinking  glasses  and  the  hum  of 
conversation  that  followed,  no  one  noticed  the  hurried, 
whispered  interview  between  two  of  the  waiters,  one  of 
them  the  heavy- jawed  Henry.  The  two  men  talked 
quickly,  almost  with  feverish  haste,  keeping  their  eyes 
on  Warden  as  they  spoke.  Then  Henry  divested  him- 
self of  his  apron,  brushed  his  clothes  with  his  hands, 
smoothed  his  hair  and  slipped  silently  out  of  the  room. 
The  other,  again  assuming  the  servile  attitude  of  th« 
waiter,  threw  a  glance  full  of  hatred  at  Warden,  ac- 
companied by  an  involuntary  clenching  of  his  fists. 
Then  he  proceeded  to  take  the  glasses,  the  cups  and 
the  saucers  from  the  table,  as  if  nothing  had  happened, 
while  Warden  and  the  other  college  youths  were  slowly 
preparing  to  depart. 

Before  proceeding  to  his  hotel,  Warden  stopped  at 
the  telephone  switchboard  on  the  ground  floor  of  the 
restaurant  building  to  speak  to  Mary  Berwin.  As  he 
neared  the  switchboard,  Henry,  the  waiter,  st^pd  in 
the  shadow  of  the  hallway.  When  he  entered  a  booth 
the  waiter  spoke  to  the  man  at  the  board  and  was 
allowed  to  take  his  place  while  the  operator  left  the 
hallway.  In  this  way  he  was  able  to  overhear  the  con- 
versation of  young  Warden  and  his  sweetheart,  which 
had  evidently  been  his  purpose. 

The  newsies  were  crying  out  their  "extras"  as  War- 


154  THE    PASSPORT 

den  emerge3  from  the  building,  following  a  chat  with 
Mary  over  the  telephone.  The  3Toung  woman  had  told 
him  that  she  had  heard,  while  he  was  dining  with  his 
classmates,  that  matters  had  assumed  a  much  more 
threatening  aspect  in  Washington,  a  report  that  he 
found  to  be  fully  confirmed  in  the  late  editions  that 
he  bought. 

He  had  arranged  to  meet  Mary  and  her  mother 
the  next  afternoon  and  dine  with  them  later,  remaining 
with  them  for  the  evening  preceding  his  departure  for 
England.  He  was  surprised  to  find  his  sweetheart  in 
not  quite  so  hopeless  a  frame  of  mind  as  he  had  feared, 
owing  to  their  prospective  parting,  a  knowledge  that 
involuntarily  piqued  the  young  man.  It  was  the  genus 
masculine  asserting  itself.  No  man,  however  lofty  his 
intellectuality  and  his  aspirations,  is  entirely  free  from 
a  feeling  of  chagrin  at  an  evidence  of  feminine  indif- 
ference, no  matter  how  slight,  and  he  could  not  refrain 
from  noting  Mary's  apparent  absence  of  worry  over 
his  forthcoming  journey.  It  was  merely  a  passing 
thought,  however,  for  young  Warden  had  too  many 
serious  problems  in  his  head  to  make  it  possible  for 
him  to  give  time  to  the  consideration  of  a  woman's 
whim. 

He  read  his  evening  papers  as  lie  rode  downtown  in 
the  underground  train.  In  the  car  immediately  behind 
his,  standing  on  the  platform,  his  unpleasant  face 
barely  showing  through  the  glass  front  of  the  vestibule, 
was  Henry,  the  heavy-jawed  waiter.  The  fellow  never 
allowed  his  eyes  to  stray  from  the  young  man  in  the 
car  ahead  and  he  was  on  the  station  platform  as  quickly 
as  Warden  was,  when  the  latter  left  the  train  at  the 
stop  nearest  to  his  hotel.  In  the  shadow  of  the  night 
and  the  buildings  the  man  kept  apace  with  him  until 


THE    PASSPORT  155 

he  saw  young  Warden  enter  the  hotel. 

"Good!"  growled  the  waiter,  as  he  noted  the  place. 
"It  will  be  an  interesting  journey  for  that  damned 
Yankee !"  Then  he  hurried  away.  Half  an  hour  later 
he  met  the  waiter  with  whom  he  had  the  whispered  con- 
ference in  the  private  dining  room,  in  a  dingy  little 
coffee  house  on  the  East  Side. 

After  a  brief  parley  the  two  men  left  the  place  and 
made  their  way  to  an  Italian  cobbler's,  in  a  row  of 
dreary  tenements,  where  they  went  into  a  back  room, 
carefully  closing  the  door  behind  them  and  where  they 
remained  well  into  the  night. 


CHAPTER   XII 

FRIDAY  came  into  being  bathed  in  sunlight  and  with 
every  indication  of  being  an  auspiciously  beautiful  day. 
In  the  early  forenoon  Warden  busied  himself  making 
the  final  arrangements  for  his  passage  on  the  Autania 
and  for  his  passport,  which  had  to  be  vised  by  the 
British  Consul. 

Having  attended  to  these  formalities,  he  took  a  train 
for  a  suburban  station  in  New  Jersey,  where,  hidden 
in  the  woods  in  an  isolated  section,  was  a  little  country 
cemetery.  It  was  there  that  what  remained  earthly  of 
a  mother  had  been  laid  at  rest  a  few  short  years  before, 
and  it  seemed  fitting  to  Richard  to  visit  the  hallowed 
spot  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  and  receive  the  silent, 
unspoken  blessing  the  memory  of  a  loving  and  self- 
sacrificing  mother  must  invariably  convey.  He  unbur- 
dened his  innermost  soul  while  he  stood  there,  in  that 
little  plot,  with  that  pitiful  little  grey  stone  marking 
all  that  had  been  dear  to  him  and  which  had  passed 
beyond.  He  spoke  to  her  as  if  she  had  been  standing 
there  before  him  and  asked  her  blessing  on  his  mission — 
a  mission  that  he  knew  his  mother  would  have  desired 
him  to  undertake.  He  thought  of  her  as  she  appeared 
to  him  when  he  was  a  child,  a  fairy  apparition,  gentle 
and  patient,  invariably  brushing  away  the  threatening 
clouds  on  the  little  family  horizon  and  turning  into  a 
calm  the  impending  storm.  Then,  as  she  appeared  to 
him  later,  he  grown  into  manhood  and  able  to  com- 


THE    PASSPORT  157 

prehend  the  sacrifices  that  she  was  making ;  her  unalter- 
able sympathy  for  the  oppressed;  her  infinite  sense  of 
justice.  Such  had  been  his  mother,  and  Richard  knew 
that  it  was  her  spirit  that  moved  him  now,  directed 
his  every  thought  for  justice  and  fair  play,  guided  his 
every  action  looking  to  the  alleviation  of  human 
suffering. 

After  his  quiet  communion  with  the  past  he  left  a 
wreath  of  immortelles  on  the  little  grey  stone  and 
then  silently  wended  his  way  from  the  quiet  and  peace 
of  the  Dead  to  the  noise  and  turmoil  of  the  living. 

Had  he  for  a  moment  thought  that  Mary  Berwin 
was  lacking  in  the  most  intense  concern  over  his  for- 
eign trip,  that  feeling  would  have  been  instantly  dissi- 
pated when  he  saw  her  that  afternoon.  The  beautiful 
girl  showed  the  agitation  that  she  felt  and  innumer- 
able little  requisites  essential  to  the  traveller's  comfort, 
which  she  had  gathered  in  a  day's  visit  to  the  shops, 
were  awaiting  his  coming  so  that  he  might  take  them 
with  him  and  include  them  in  his  luggage.  It  did  seem 
somewhat  strange  to  the  young  man  that  his  sweetheart 
acquiesced  so  readily  to  his  suggestion  that  she  should 
not  come  to  the  steamship  pier  in  the  morning  to  bid 
him  bon  voyage.  He  had  desired  to  spare  the  girl  he 
loved  every  possible  heart-pang  and  thought  a  parting 
the  night  before,  in  her  own  home,  would  not  cause 
either  of  them  so  poignant  a  grief  as  would  the  waving 
of  farewells  at  the  wharf.  He  had  been  almost  certain 
that  his  suggestion  would  meet  with  strenuous  oppo- 
sition and  he  was  not  at  all  prepared  for  the  appar- 
ently satisfied  manner  with  which  Mary  agreed  to  his 
plan.  He  dismissed  the  thought  by  saying  that  she 
was  probably  hiding  her  deep  feelings  over  their  separa- 
tion, a  feeling  that  he,  too,  was  suffering  under, 


158  THE    PASSPORT 

which,  in  his  case,  was  tempered  by  the  tremendous 
responsibilities  he  had  taken  upon  himself  and  which 
kept  his  brain  awhirl  with  a  multitude  of  plans,  some 
of  them  in  a  decidedly  embryonic  state. 

There  was  no  question  that  he  and  Mary  were  very 
much  in  love  with  each  other.  Fostered  by  misfortune 
and  sorrow  on  the  one  side,  the  affection  between  them 
was  much  deeper  than  usual  between  young  people  of 
their  ages.  Mary's  love  was  reflected  in  her  every 
glance,  her  every  movement.  There  was  nothing  of 
the  frivolous  about  Richard  Warden.  He  was  a  young 
man  to  attract  admiration  from  a  girl  as  sensible  and 
womanly  as  Mary  was,  and  he  had  attracted  her  ad- 
miration to  the  full.  She,  in  turn,  had  that  easy 
grace  and  tact  to  draw  to  her  the  best  in  young 
manhood,  without  the  inane  and  pointless  chatter  so 
common  to  the  modern  well-groomed  youth  whose  am-, 
bitions,  so  far  as  feminine  association  goes,  never  rises 
above  the  tailor  and  the  dancing  master. 

Mary  was  now  thoroughly  conversant  with  her 
fiance's  plans.  With  her  aptitude  of  comprehending 
things,  she  thoroughly  understood  the  dangers  and 
risks  that  the  man  she  loved  was  laying  himself  bare 
to.  But  she  also  understood  his  reasons  for  believing 
that  he  would,  just  as  likely  as  not,  go  through  his  mis- 
sion unscathed,  for  they  were  entirely  logical  reasons 
and  Mary  was,  above  all  else,  able  to  see  the  logic  of 
things. 

The  dinner,  prepared  under  tHe  practical  supervision 
of  Mrs.  Berwin,  who  prided  herself,  and  justly  so, 
upon  being  a  most  excellent  cook,  was  a  delightful  one, 
although  the  recent  stirring  events  in  the  lives  of  the 
Berwins,  mother  and  daughter,  barred  any  undue  exu- 
berance of  high  spirits.  The  conversation,  dealing 


THE    PASSPORT  159 

largely  with  the  questionable  ease  with  which  he  would 
be  able  to  pursue  his  travels,  did  not  lag  and  the  three 
sat  over  their  coffee  for  a  long  time  after  the  meal  was 
over  and  the  table  had  been  cleared. 

Finally,  her  mother  having  excused  herself  on  the 
plea  that  she  was  much  fatigued  and  needed  rest,  Mary 
and  Richard  were  left  alone  and  the  latter  settled  him- 
self for  a  final  talk  with  his  sweetheart  before  entering 
upon  the  new  phase  in  his  career,  a  phase  that  might, 
conceivably,  end  in  disaster  for  himself  and  for  the 
girl's  hopes  for  the  future,  and  which  might,  again, 
mean  a  new  era  of  happiness  not  only  for  both  of  them 
but  for  the  whole  world — a  portentous  thought  indeed. 

"I  know  that  you  will  succeed,  my  boy,"  said  Mary, 
gently,  as  she  held  his  head  between  her  hands.  Then, 
stroking  his  waving  hair,  "You  will  not  fail,  for  justice 
and  honor  will  be  on  your  side  and  you  will  be  able  to 
convince  all  of  your  noble  intentions.  There  are  few 
men  in  the  world  like  you,  Dick,  and  I  am  so  proud  of 
you." 

"And  you,"  he  answered,  with  a  great  gentleness  in 
his  voice.  "What  will  you  do  when  I  return?  If  I 
should  succeed,  you  would  let  me  watch  over  you  then, 
forever?  It  will  be  my  aim  to  make  you  happy,  oh,  so 
happy,  dear  heart.  You  have  been  sorely  tried,  but 
it  will  all  come  out  right,  I  am  sure  it  will."  He  knew 
that  Mary  was  thinking  of  her  father  as  she  averted 
her  eyes  from  his.  "That,  also,  will  turn  out  without 
further  unhappiness,  dear.  You  will  be  able  to  look 
upon  a  happy  future  and  to  know  that  all  the  mistakes 
that  were  made,  the  mistake  that  your  father  made, 
will  be  forgiven  and  forgotten  in  the  happier  days  that 
are  to  come.  Think  of  me  and  pray  for  me  while  I  am 
away  from  you.  Your  prayers  will  be  my  safety,  your 


160  THE    PASSPORT 

longing  will  be  the  magnet  that  will  draw  me  irresistibly 
back  to  you." 

In  this  wise  did  these  two  young  people  effect  their 
parting,  each  pledging  the  other  a  love  and  constancy 
that  neither  the  ocean's  breadth  or  war's  horrors  would 
cause  to  wane.  Then  he  departed,  after  a  long  and 
tender  embrace  and,  as  he  thought,  for  a  long  time, 
with  the  chances  of  his  ever  returning  very  much  in 
the  balance.  This  was  in  the  day's  work,  however,  a 
day's  work  that  should,  he  believed,  count  in  the  final 
Reckoning. 

Earlier  in  the  evening  a  neatly  dressed,  rather  heavy- 
set  man  had  entered  the  hotel  where  Warden  had  his 
lodgings.  The  one  thing  noticeable  about  the  man 
was  his  heavy,  almost  bulldog-like  jaws.  At  the  hotel 
desk  he  presented  a  card  bearing  the  engraved  name 
of  Richard  Warden,  on  the  back  of  which  was  written 
a  brief  order  requesting  that  the  bearer  be  allowed  to 
go  to  Mr.  Warden's  room  for  some  papers  which  had 
been  forgotten  and  which  Mr.  Warden  apparently 
needed  at  once. 

Once  in  the  apartment,  the  stranger  began  a  hurried 
but  thorough  examination  of  the  young  man's  effects. 
Luckily  for  Richard,  he  had  left  his  valise  containing 
all  his  important  papers,  passage  ticket,  passport  and 
other  documents,  with  the  coat  boy  in  the  hotel  lobby. 
The  hotel  clerk,  not  knowing  this,  did  not  have  the 
opportunity  of  suggesting  that  the  desired  papers, 
mentioned  on  the  card,  might  possibly  be  in  the  valise. 

In  the  room  there  were  the  stateroom  trunk,  a  box 
that  was  nailed  closed  and  which  did  not  seem  to 
interest  the  searcher,  some  clothes  laid  out  ready  for 
packing  and  some  unimportant  odds  and  ends  in  the 


THE    PASSPORT  161 

way  of  pipes,  books,  clothes'  hange'rs  and  the  black 
camera  box  to  which  the  visitor  paid  no  attention. 

From  his  pocket  the  fellow  drew  a  small  package, 
the  size  of  a  one-pound  candy  box,  which  he  opened 
and  proceeded  to  set  a  pin  or  hand  such  as  are  set  on 
the  back  of  some  alarm-clocks.  Then,  repacking  the 
parcel  and  tapping  at  it  lightly  with  a  pocket  knife, 
he  raised  the  personal  effects  that  had  been  already 
packed  in  the  bottom  of  the  small  trunk,  placed  the 
package  between  the  lower  layers  of  clothes,  and  care- 
fully readjusted  the  things  that  he  had  disturbed. 

For  a  little  time  thereafter  he  looked  through  the 
room,  but  apparently  found  nothing  to  his  liking  ex- 
cept a  box  of  cigars,  which  he  placed  in  the  outer 
pocket  of  his  coat. 

While  the  visit  had  quite  evidently  not  been  made 
from  a  burglarious  motive  originally,  the  box  of  cigars, 
presented  to  Richard  by  David  Lindsey  the  night  be- 
fore, had  proven  too  great  a  temptation  to  the  heavy- 
jawed  intruder  and  its  confiscation  went  hand  in  hand 
with  the  fellow's  melodramatic  exclamation  of  "Fur 
das  Vaterland!"  which  he  gave  vent  to,  a  big  fist  raised 
high  above  his  head,  as  he  started  for  the  door. 

When  Warden  arrived  at  his  hotel  he  was  puzzled 
to  learn  of  the  visit  of  the  stranger  with  the  card  pur- 
porting to  have  been  sent  by  him.  He  felt  that  he 
was  again  the  subject  of  a  surveillance,  although,  this 
time,  he  could  eliminate  the  secret  service  people.  Ber- 
win  and  Schmidt,  of  course,  were  in  custody,  so  he  was 
at  a  loss  to  understand  from  what  quarter  to  expect 
this  new  interference  with  his  activities.  For  an  instant 
Charlie  Hartung's  name  suggested  itself  to  him,  but 
he  threw  off  that  idea  as  an  insult  to  the  young  chap 


162  THE    PASSPORT 

with  whom  he  had  spent  so  many  enjoyable  days  at  the 
university.  Besides,  the  description  given  of  the  mys- 
terious visitor  by  the  hotel  clerk  did  not  tally  in  the 
least  with  the  general  appearance  of  the  young  Ger- 
man-American who  had  interrupted  his  speech  at  the 
farewell  dinner  given  him  by  his  college  mates. 

In  his  room  he  failed  to  find  anything  missing.  He 
was  relieved  to  learn  that  his  satchels  had  not  been 
meddled  with  and  he  found  them  intact  when  they 
were  brought  upstairs  to  him.  The  only  thing  that 
he  missed  was  the  box  of  cigars,  and  he  finally  gave 
up  the  attempt  to  identify  the  intruder  or  his  possible 
mission. 

He  packed  the  rest  of  his  belongings  in  the  steamer 
trunk,  arranged  for  his  early  departure  from  the  hotel 
in  the  morning,  and  then,  after  looking  over  some 
papers  and  smoking  a  last  pipe,  turned  off  the  lights 
and  retired. 

As  the  taximeter  cab  that  took  him  and  his  luggage 
to  the  wharf  the  next  morning  rounded  the  corner  of 
the  street  on  its  way  to  the  waterfront,  another  cab 
went  hastily  in  pursuit.  In  it  sat  two  men,  one  of 
them  Henry,  the  heavy-jawed  waiter  of  the  Thursday 
night  banquet. 

While  the  baggage  of  all  passengers  was  being  looked 
over  on  the  pier,  before  the  passengers  were  allowed 
to  take  their  belongings  on  board,  the  two  men  stood 
away  from  the  group  of  baggage  examiners  and 
watched  keenly  as  young  Warden's  trunk  was  looked 
into.  Henry  gave  a  sigh  of  relief  when  the  trunk  was 
again  closed  and  locked  and  carried  over  the  gangplank. 

Looking,  involuntarily,  for  a  fair,  sweet  face  with 
two  expressive  eyes,  speaking  a  mute  farewell  and  God- 
speed across  the  chasm  between  wharf  and  steamer, 


THE    PASSPORT  163 

Richard  half  regretted  his  arrangement  to  have  no 
one  see  him  off  at  the  pier.  He  envied  those  who  were 
able  to  wave  at  friends  and  relatives  from  the  deck 
rail.  Then,  seeing  the  tears  and  hearing  the  sobs  of 
those  who  were  being  left  behind,  he  felt  that  he  had 
spared  Mary  one  additional  pang  of  sorrow  that  such 
a  parting  would  have  been  sure  to  give  her,  and  it 
eased  the  homesickness  that  crept  over  him,  notwith- 
standing himself. 

Soon  the  last  bell  rang  for  "All  Ashore"  and  the 
big  siren  blew  as  a  warning  that  the  gangplank  was 
to  be  withdrawn  and  the  great  propellers  were  to  begin 
churning  a  whirlpool  preparatory  to  the  backing  of 
the  giant  vessel  into  the  river.  With  several  puffing, 
wheezing  little  tugs  to  aid  her  in  straightening  out  in 
the  stream,  the  Autania  pointed  her  nose  towards  the 
open  sea,  and  wharves,  warehouses,  freight  sheds  and 
finally  Battery  Park  were  left  astern  and  New  York 
became  a  hazy  memory. 

At  the  Narrows  a  United  States  destroyer  signalled 
a  "Go  ahead;  pleasant  voyage,"  and  Warden,  stand- 
ing at  the  rail  with  some  of  the  other  passengers,  raised 
his  hat  as  he  had  never  raised  it  to  anything  American 
before.  There  was  pride,  enthusiasm  and  love  in  the 
gesture  and  an  overwhelming  satisfaction  was  his  that 
his  country  had  its  warships  on  duty, — on  watch.  He 
felt  that  the  watch  would  soon  be  needed. 

He  was  making  his  way  to  his  stateroom,  to  make 
ready  for  luncheon,  when  a  steward  handed  him  a  note. 
It  was  written  on  ship's  stationery,  which  caused  him 
added  curiosity,  for  he  could  not  imagine  that  he  knew 
any  of  the  passengers  on  the  steamer.  He  tore  open 
the  cover,  the  address  on  which  had  seemed  slightly 
familiar  to  him,  and  the  contents  did  not  take  long 


164  THE    PASSPORT 

to  explain  the  mystery.     The  note  was  in  a  plain,  bold 
feminine  hand. 

Don't  be  cross,  dear,  but  mother  and  I  de- 
cided that  we  would  make  the  journey  across 
the  Atlantic  with  you.  Not  wishing  to  give 
you  a  sudden  shock  at  seeing  us  on  board  or 
to  have  any  of  the  passengers  get  an  idea  that 
anything  unusual  happened,  I  thought  I 
would  prepare  you  for  the  surprise!  Come  to 
us  in  34,  D  Deck.  I  am  so  happy  to  be  here 
with  youy  my  beloved. 

Your  Mary. 

The  surprise  that  he  felt  was  clearly  reflected  on 
his  face,  but  he  managed  to  collect  himself  when  he 
saw  the  suave  stateroom  steward  watching  him  as  if 
there  might  be  an  answer  to  the  note.  If  there  is  one 
thing  a  stateroom  steward  enjoys  above  everything 
else  it  is  the  fostering  of  romances  of  the  deep.  For 
in  them  lie  hidden,  as  a  general  rule,  innumerable  mes- 
sages and  a  consequent  increased  monetary  remunera- 
tion at  the  end  of  the  trip. 

It  did  not  take  the  young  man  long  to  brush  up 
and  hasten  to  the  deck  above,  where,  in  a  comfortable 
room  amidships,  he  was  soon  reunited  with  Mary  and 
her  mother,  and  fifteen  minutes  later  the  three  had 
been  assigned  to  a  table  in  the  dining  saloon. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

A  GROUND  swell  gave  the  big  steamship  an  uncom- 
fortable roll  during  the  afternoon,  which  was  not  a 
source  of  any  special  comfort  to  the  more  unseasoned 
of  the  voyagers.  It  had  caused  a  general  evacuation 
of  the  dining  room  and  a  general  movement  in  the 
direction  of  staterooms  and  deck  chairs.  Both  Mary 
and  her  mother  pleaded  fatigue  as  an  excuse  for  their 
retirement  to  the  seclusion  of  their  cabin  and  Warden 
embraced  the  opportunity  to  unpack  his  baggage,  in 
which  operation  a  solicitous  room  steward  offered  to 
assist  him. 

Once  in  his  own  room,  he  arranged  the  contents  of 
his  valise  about  his  cabin  and  then  the  steward  dragged 
the  little  flat  trunk  from  underneath  the  bunk.  First 
his  clothes  were  passed  to  the  steward  for  hanging  in 
the  wardrobe  closet. 

He  had  taken  out  all  but  the  bottommost  layer  of 
things  when,  in  reaching  down,  his  hand  struck  a 
parcel  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  trunk. 

He  drew  it  out  and  looked  at  it,  puzzled,  for  a 
moment. 

At  first  he  thought  it  was  one  of  the  little  packages 
prepared  for  him  by  Mary,  but  he  could  not  account 
for  it  being  at  the  bottom  of  the  trunk.  In  fact,  he 
had  not  placed  any  packages  in  the  trunk  at  all,  he 
remembered. 

Untying  the  string  that  held  the  wrapper,  he  un- 
folded this  also  and  found  a  little  box,  of  plain,  thin 


166  THE    PASSPORT 

wood,  such  as  are  used  to  pack  school  chalks  in.  The 
little  box  was  nailed  tight,  with  small  brads,  and  when, 
using  his  pocket  knife  for  the  task,  he  pried  open  the 
top  of  the  box,  the  inside  of  it  disclosed  a  bottle,  or 
rather  a  glass  jar,  at  the  top  of  which  was  fitted  what 
appeared  to  be  a  sort  of  alarm  clock  arrangement, 
with  a  slight  tick  and  a  small  hand  that  pointed  to  the 
numeral  five. 

The  steward's  attention  had  been  attracted  to  his 
efforts  to  open  the  box  and  when  the  glass  jar,  with 
its  strange  contrivance,  was  disclosed  his  eyes  shifted 
from  the  glass  affair  to  Warden's  face  just  as  War- 
den's eyes  turned  from  the  thing  he  held  in  his  hand 
to  the  face  of  the  steward. 

Both  men  had  the  same  thought  and  the  steward 
made  an  involuntary  movement  as  if  to  withdraw  from 
the  room  in  precipitate  haste. 

Warden,  entirely  calm  and  collected,  stopped  him 
with  a  motion  of  his  hand.  He  thought  quickly  but 
definitely  and  looked  at  his  watch. 

It  was  then  just  past  four  o'clock. 

He  again  looked  at  the  hand  on  the  alarm  clock 
contrivance  and  saw  that  he  had  noted  correctly. 

The  hand  stood  on  the  numeral  five. 

He  held  the  piece  of  wrapping  paper  loosely  over 
the  jar,  then  motioned  to  the  quite  apparently  fright- 
ened steward. 

"Come  with  me  to  the  bridge,"  he  said  quietly,  but 
in  a  tone  of  absolute  authority.  "There  is  no  danger — 
yet,"  he  added  as  he  noted  the  apathy  of  the  man  to 
obey.  "We  must  show  this  to  the  captain  at  once." 

Quickly  and  without  using  any  of  the  main  stair- 
ways, they  passed  along  the  corridor  to  the  forward 
part  of  the  vessel,  ascending  an  inner  stairway  to  the 


THE    PASSPORT  167 

deck  above,  then  another  and  still  another,  without 
meeting  with  any  passengers. 

Arriving  on  the  upper  promenade  deck,  they  had  to 
go  outside  and  up  a  narrow  companionway  used  ex- 
clusively by  the  navigating  staff. 

On  the  bridge  they  found  the  captain. 

Very  briefly  yet  very  explicitly  Warden  explained 
what  he  had  found  and  what  he  feared.  The  captain 
understood  and  said  the  best  thing  would  be  to  throw 
the  jar  far  overboard  at  once.  Warden,  however,  de- 
sired to  know  for  certain  that  the  clockwork  he  had 
found  was,  indeed,  what  they  thought  it  was,  and 
suggested  that  it  be  placed  in  a  sealed  tin  container, 
lashed  to  a  board  and  the  board  lowered  over  the  stern 
rail  and  dragged  along  at  a  goodly  distance  from  the 
ship.  In  this  way  they  would  be  able  to  watch  the 
effect  of  the  contents  of  the  jar  in  safety. 

Accordingly,  one  of  the  sealed  tins  always  at  hand 
in  a  pilot  house  was  produced,  and  within  five  minutes 
after  it  had  been  sealed  up  the  Captain,  Warden  and 
another  officer  were  hurrying  aft  with  their  little  "raft." 
The  steward  had  been  ordered  to  say  nothing  of  the 
discovery  in  young  Warden's  cabin  trunk.  The  man 
could  not  resist  following  the  others — at  a  distance 
and  along  the  opposite  side  of  the  deck — and  his  curi- 
osity naturally  attracted  attention  from  other  stew- 
ards and  sailors,  with  the  result  that,  somehow,  it 
began  to  be  whispered  around  the  big  vessel  that  some- 
thing of  more  than  usual  interest  was  happening  on 
board. 

The  mere  fact  that  the  commander  of  tKe  Auianla 
stood  silently  and  quietly  at  the  stern  rail,  with  one 
of  his  officers  and  Warden,  that  a  long  rope  was 
stretched  from  the  taffrail  far  out  beyond  the  wake 


168  THE    PASSPORT 

of  the  propellers  and  that,  at  the  sea-end  of  the  line, 
some  object  bobbed  up  and  down  and  flopped  around 
with  the  tremendous  speed  at  which  it  was  being 
dragged  through  the  water,  was  enough  to  cause  a 
group  of  saloon  travellers  to  crowd  the  rail  on  the 
upper  deck  amidships  and  a  number  of  second-class 
voyagers,  on  the  same  deck  with  the  captain  and  his 
companions,  to  watch  them  at  a  respectful  distance. 

At  a  twenty-seven-knot  clip  the  fleet  Autania  rushed 
on  to  the  eastward  and  the  watchers  at  her  stern  kept 
their  eyes  riveted  on  the  indistinct  object  at  the  end 
of  the  line,  far  out  into  the  sea. 

Every  few  moments  one  or  the  other  of  the  three 
at  the  taffrail  would  consult  his  watch,  and  finally, 
when  the  time  showed  a  few  minutes  lacking  of  five 
o'clock,  all  three  looked  at  one  another,  without  saying 
a  word. 

Suddenly  those  who  had  kept  their  eyes  on  the  far 
end  of  the  line  saw  a  volume  of  spray  rise  up  from  the 
sea.  It  was  as  if  a  shell  from  a  heavy  gun  had  fallen 
into  the  water.  It  was  followed  by  a  report,  suffi- 
ciently loud  to  prove  to  Warden  and  the  two  ship's 
officers  that  the  glass  jar  had  exploded. 

Judging  from  the  commotion  the  detonation  made  at 
the  distance  from  the  steamer  that  it  was  at  the  time, 
Warden  and  his  two  companions  at  the  rail  knew  that 
the  glass  jar  would  have  caused  serious  disaster  had  it 
exploded  in  the  cabin  trunk  in  Warden's  stateroom. 

Instinctively  the  captain  and  Warden  shook  hands 
as  the  explosion  was  heard  and  the  eyes  of  both  were, 
for  an  instant,  turned  gratefully  to  Heaven.  They 
returned  slowly  to  the  forward  section  of  the  ship, 
Warden  explaining  to  the  captain,  as  they  walked  along 
the  deck,  the  visit  of  the  stranger  to  his  room  the 


THE    PASSPORT  169 

evening  before.  He  did  not  attempt  to  enlighten  the 
captain  on  the  subject  of  his  own  mission  abroad  and 
the  possible  motive  for  the  attempt  upon  his  life  and 
the  damage  to  if  not  the  total  destruction  of  the 
Autania.  He  contented  himself  by  saying  that  he  prob- 
ably had  some  hidden  enemy  who  had  taken  this  das- 
tardly means  to  put  him  out  of  the  way. 

When  he  saw  Mary  that  evening,  just  before  the 
dinner  hour,  she  told  him  that  she  had  heard  from  the 
stewardess  that  some  passenger  had  found  an  infernal 
machine  in  his  trunk.  To  reassure  his  sweetheart  he 
said  this  was  quite  true,  but  that  he  himself  had  seen 
the  explosive  thrown  overboard.  With  the  reports  of 
attempts  to  blow  up  ocean  steamships  by  means  of 
bombs  placed  on  board  by  German  sympathizers,  the 
incident  of  the  Autania  did  not  tend  to  quiet  the  nerves 
of  the  passengers  and  the  discovery  of  the  bomb  re- 
mained the  principal  topic  of  conversation  in  the  loung- 
ing and  the  smoking  rooms. 

It  was  not  until  the  third  day  out,  when  the  Autania 
had  passed  mid-Atlantic,  that  Mary  Berwin  learned 
for  whom  the  explosive  discovered  two  days  before  had 
been  intended.  The  girl's  fears  were  thoroughly  re- 
vived as  she  learned  anew  of  the  desperate  attempts 
that  were  being  made  upon  the  life  of  her  affianced. 
She  sought  him  out  on  deck  and  implored  her  lover  to 
be  continually  on  his  guard,  to  watcL  carefully  every 
stranger  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  and  to  take 
nothing  from  anyone  without  being  sure  beyond  a  doubt 
that  no  harm  could  possibly  be  intended. 

The  days  on  the  ocean,  except  for  the  excitement 
that  had  occurred  at  the  very  start  of  the  voyage,  were 
happy  days  for  them  both.  Mary  proved  a  good  sailor, 
unlike  her  mother,  who  was  kept  to  her  room  for  the 


170  THE    PASSPORT 

greater  part  of  the  trip.  The  sweethearts  breakfasted, 
lunched  and  dined  together,  took  long  walks  along  the 
splendid,  broad  decks,  lolled  in  their  deck  chairs  and 
enjoyed  the  moonlight  on  the  vast  expanse  of  water 
as  they  wandered  in  the  shadows  of  the  evenings. 

There  was  a  ghostly  coziness  about  these  evening 
walks,  for  no  lights  shone  on  deck  or  from  the  light- 
ports. 

Everything  was  in  darkness  on  board  except  within 
the  great,  luxurious  saloons  and  cabins.  Windows  were 
heavily  curtained  and  the  decks  had  to  be  walked  with 
care,  for  nowhere  was  there  a  light  to  mark  the  com- 
panionways  or  entrances  to  the  realms  within.  As  an 
added  precaution,  the  lifeboats  swung  lazily  out  upon 
the  davits,  ready  for  instant  lowering  should  unfor- 
seen  disaster  overtake  the  great  liner,  a  disaster  pos- 
sible only  through  the  machinations  of  the  German 
brain  and  because  of  which  no  lights  shone  out  upon 
the  waters.  The  decks  were  not  deserted,  however,  for 
at  regular  intervals  an  alert  seaman  stood,  peering 
over  the  dark  sea,  watching  for  the  tell-tale  periscope — 
pirate-scope,  one  British  Jackie  had  appropriately 
called  it — ready  to  give  the  instant  alarm  to  the  navi- 
gating bridge  where  the  commander  held  his  post  all 
through  the  watches  of  the  night. 

The  very  perijl  of  the  voyage  braced  the  nerves  of 
all  and  caused  an  atmosphere  of  friendly  sociability 
to  pervade  the  ship. 

Warden  was  sitting  in  the  smoking-room  the  next 
morning,  looking  over  the  wireless  bulletins  printed  in 
the  form  of  a  daily  newspaper  aboard  the  ship,  when 
the  conversation  at  an  adjoining  table  attracted  his 
attention.  Lounging  in  the  soft,  comfortable  settees 
were  five  men,  together  representing  a  large  part  of 


THE    PASSPORT  171 

the  individual  wealth  of  the  United  States.  There  was 
Jordan,  the  New  York  financier ;  McRadden,  Philadel- 
phia philanthropist  and  backer  of  scientific  research; 
Barbour,  the  Western  capitalist  and  one  of  the  chief 
figures  in  the  great  packing  interests ;  Quabb,  the  Steel 
King,  and  Clarkson,  retired  capitalist  and  Represen- 
tative. Warden  had  met  all  five  of  the  men  and  he 
was  not,  therefore,  averse  to  mingling  in  the  discus- 
sion, which  had  to  do  with  passports  and  their  recog- 
nition by  foreign  governments. 

Jordan  held  that  a  government,  in  time  of  war,  could 
withhold  recognition  of  any  passport  without  the  neces- 
sity of  having  to  explain  its  action  to  the  government 
of  the  holder  of  the  paper,  provided  no  indignity  was 
shown  the  latter. 

Clarkson  vehemently  upheld  his  theory  that  no  gov- 
ernment had  the  right  to  refuse  the  citizen  of  a  neutral 
power  the  right  of  access  to  the  country,  provided  the 
visitor  did  not  violate  military  rules. 

The  Steel  King  declared  that  no,  passport  had  ever 
been  ignored  except  for  specifically  good  reasons  by 
any  nation  except  one,  and  that,  in  the  case  of  the 
latter,  it  had  always  been  on  religious  lines  and  that 
it  was  well  understood  beforehand.  Even  this  one  re- 
striction had  now  been  wiped  out  by  the  war  and  the 
man  from  the  rolling  mills  said  he  was  certain  that 
the  religious  restrictions  in  this  particular  country 
would  never  again  be  felt  after  the  present  war. 

"A  passport  will  carry  you  anywhere  if  your  country 
is  not  at  war  with  the  one  you  are  visiting,"  opined 
the  man  from  Chicago.  "And  to-day  you  could  not 
go  ten  feet  without  a  passport,"  he  added. 

"I  wish  I  had  the  opportunity — and  the  means — to 
lay  a  wager  on  that  proposition  of  yours,  Mr.  Bar- 


172  THE    PASSPORT 

hour,"  said  Warden  quietly.  "I  mean  the  last  part 
of  your  statement." 

"You  think  that  you  could  go  on  your  way  without 
a  passport,  then?"  inquired  the  packer.  "Or  do  you 
mean  that  you  would  limit  me  to  the  ten  feet  I  men- 
tioned. That  was  speaking  figuratively.  You  would 
probably  be  able  to  go  as  much  as  thirty  feet — the 
length  of  the  landing  stage  at  Liverpool — but  after 
that  you  would  go  only  in  custody  and  not  very  far 
then." 

"I  would  not  split  hairs  on  such  a  proposition," 
insisted  Warden.  "I  say  that  I  would,  were  I  able, 
wager  that  I  could  land  in  England,  cross  over  to 
Prance,  go  through  Belgium,  cross  the  lines  into  Ger- 
many, travel  back  to  France,  recross  the  Channel  to 
England  and  return  to  my  own  country,  without  a 
passport !  There  is  no  catch  in  my  meaning.  I  cannot 
make  the  wager,  of  course,  but  I  mean  exactly  what  I 
say  and  in  the  most  liberal  sense.  I  do  not  include 
Russia,  Servia  or  the  Slav  countries  for  the  reason 
that  I  could  not  make  myself  understood  in  those  lands 
and,  besides,  subordinates  in  those  countries  would  be 
liable  to  kill  you  before  you  could  ever  get  the  ear  of 
a  commanding  officer." 

There  was  a  queer  light  in  young  Warden's  eyes. 
He  enjoyed  the  mystification  that  he  had  aroused  in 
the  group  of  notables.  He  knew  that  his  project  was 
useless  and  unnecessary  although  entirely  plausible, 
knowing  what  he  knew.  He  had  no  doubt  whatever 
of  his  ability  to  do  just  what  he  had  said  he  could  do 
and  there  was  no  undue  bravado  or  boastfulness  in  his 
speech. 

"If  I  did  not  hesitate  in  sending  a  first-class  Ameri- 
can young  man  to  his  doom,"  said  Barbour,  after  a 


THE    PASSPORT  173 

pause,  "I  would  say  that  I  have  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars right  here  that  speaks  in  support  of  my  conten- 
tion and  against  yours,  Mr.  Warden.  And  there  would 
be  no  necessity  of  you  putting  up  a  wager  against  that 
twenty  thousand.  The  sum  would  be  yours  after  you 
had  proven  to  my  satisfaction  that  you  had  completed 
that  remarkable  journey  without  a  passport." 

"And  I  have  another  twenty  thousand  to  add  to  the 
fund!"  excitedly  declared  McRadden,  jumping  to  his 
feet.  "And  on  the  same  conditions  as  Barbour's  twenty 
thousand." 

"I'm  in  on  that,"  interjected  Quabb.  "That's  a  great 
sporting  proposition !" 

"Count  me  in  also,"  spoke  up  Jordan,  ordinarily  not 
demonstrative  but  showing  a  lively  interest  in  the  dis- 
cussion. He  pulled  out  a  checkbook,  possibly  to  show 
his  good  faith. 

"Young  man,"  quietly  joined  in  the  elderly  Clark- 
son,  "that  makes  an  even  hundred  thousand  if  you 
should  think  of  making  the  journey  under  the  con- 
ditions stipulated,  for  I  am  to  be  counted  in  for  an 
equal  amount  with  my  friends."  He  moved  forward  in 
his  chair,  evincing  the  deepest  interest  in  the  course 
the  discussion  was  taking.  "I  do  not  agree  with  Bar- 
hour,"  he  went  on,  "that  it  would  be  necessarily  send- 
ing you  to  your  doom — were  you  to  make  the  try. 
From  an  educational  standpoint  alone  I  think  it  would 
be  worth  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  have  a  young 
and  sturdy  American  show  what  he  could  do  in  such 
an  undertaking." 

"Of  course,  if  Germany  and  the  United  States  should 
go  to  war  before  you  reach  German  territory  or  terri- 
tory occupied  by  the  Germans,"  interposed  Barbour, 
hastily,  "we  would  not  expect  you  to  stick  to  the  pro- 


174  THE    PASSPORT 

gramme  as  far  as  Germany  is  concerned.  In  fact,  that 
would  be  impossible." 

"It  would  make  no  difference  whatever  to  me,  or  in 
my  plans,"  said  Warden,  slowly,  "whether  war  had 
been  declared  between  Germany  and  our  country  or 
not." 

He  stood  there  without  saying  a  word  for  several 
minutes. 

The  five  wealthy  Americans  sat  quite  still,  each  of 
them  deep  in  thought,  fascinated  by  this  gambling  on 
human  ingenuity  and  grit. 

They  had,  all  of  them,  gambled  on  horses  struggling 
madly  for  supremacy  over  the  course,  on  the  rise  and 
fall  of  prices  of  securities  and  the  necessities  of  life, 
on  the  speed  of  swift  automobiles  and  swifter  motor- 
boats,  but  they  had  never  yet  sat  in  a  game  with  a 
sturdy  youth's  ability  to  succeed — despite  apparently 
unsurmountable  obstacles — as  the  stakes,  and  with 
Death  as  their  opponent. 

Warden  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence. 

"Are  you  serious  that  you  would  wager  me  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  that  I  cannot  do  what  I  claim 
I  can  do?"  he  asked,  half  incredulously. 

"Quite  serious,"  came  from  Barbour  and  McRadden, 
almost  simultaneously.  "But,"  added  Barbour,  "I 
think  that  you  had  better  think  it  over  seriously  before 
you  take  any  such  step." 

"I  am  quite  ready  to  make  the  bargain,"  replied 
Warden.  He  took  a  wallet  from  his  inner  coat  pocket 
and  from  it  a  folded  paper.  He  opened  it,  disclosing 
a  passport,  to  which  was  affixed  a  small  photograph 
of  himself,  signed  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  He 
passed  it  around,  first  to  Barbour,  who  sat  nearest  to 
where  he  stood,  then  to  McRadden,  Jordan,  Quabb  and 


THE    PASSPORT  175 

lastly  to  Clarkson.  Each  of  the  five  men  examined  the 
paper  and  Clarkson  handed  it  back  to  the  young  man. 
With  a  quick  movement,  Warden  extracted  a  match 
from  the  holder  on  the  table,  struck  it  and  lighted  the 
lower  edge  of  the  document. 

"There  is  my  passport,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  calmly, 
as  the  flame,  having  consumed  nearly  all  of  the  paper, 
neared  his  fingers.  The  last  vestige  of  the  important 
bit  of  parchment  fell,  crumbling  into  a  black  mass, 
upon  the  table.  The  five  men  looked  uncomfortable 
and  moved  about  nervously  in  their  chairs. 

"The  money  will  be  sent  immediately  to  a  New  York 
bank,"  slowly  remarked  Barbour,  in  a  tone  more  as  if 
he  were  relating  a  story  in  an  absent-minded  way  than 
as  if  he  were  giving  Warden  important  information. 
"We  will  have  Hannaford,  who  is  on  board,  give  us 
the  benefit  of  his  legal  knowledge  in  drawing  up  the 
agreement,  which  will  be  sent  under  seal  to  any  address 
in  New  York  you  may  designate,  to  be  kept  for  you 
until  you  return,"  he  continued,  in  the  same  monotone. 
Then,  as  if  with  a  sudden  inspiration,  "How  are  you 
going  to  prove  your  travels?" 

"That  will  be  the  easiest  part  of  it,"  said  Warden, 
with  a  wistful  smile  playing  about  his  firm  mouth.  "I 
will  produce  passes,  properly  signed  and  countersigned, 
officially  stamped  and  otherwise  identified,  from  place 
to  place,  so  that  you  will  be  able  to  check  off  practically 
every  mile  of  my  journey,"  he  added.  "Where  shall 
we  meet  again — in  New  York?" 

"At  the  Laurel  Club,"  suggested  Jordan.  "Notify 
us  there.  Your  message  will  be  forwarded  to  us  if  we 
are  not  in  the  city  and  I,  for  one,  will  make  it  a  point 
to  come  to  New  York  to  personally  congratulate  you 
upon  your  safe  return," 


176  THE    PASSPORT 

"So  will  I !"  exclaimed  McRadden. 

"And  I !  And  I !"  came  in  a  chorus  from  Quabb  and 
Clarkson. 

"I  shall  remain  in  London,  where  you  can  reach  me 
at  any  time  in  care  of  the  Embassy,"  said  Barbour, 
earnestly.  "I  shall  remain  in  London  until  you  return 
there  and  we  will  make  the  homeward  trip  over  the 
Atlantic  together,  I  hope." 

At  daybreak  on  the  Friday  following  the  departure 
from  New  York  and  the  day  after  the  strange  wager 
in  the  smoking  room,  all  the  passengers  on  the  Autania 
were  keenly  alive  to  the  fact  that  the  vessel  was  entering 
the  danger  zone. 

Barring  mishap,  the  steamship  was  due  to  make 
Liverpool  late  that  night  or  early  the  following  morn- 
ing, and  all  on  board,  from  the  captain  down,  knew 
that  the  chance  of  encountering  one  of  the  German 
piratical  submarines  was  becoming  greater  every 
moment. 

An  early  morning  inspection  of  the  lifeboats  and 
the  lowering  apparatus  did  not  tend  to  remove  the 
nervous  feeling  among  the  voyagers,  while  the  tre- 
mendous speed  maintained  and  the  straining  eyes  on 
the  navigating  bridge  increased  the  general  atmosphere 
of  apprehension. 

Mary  Berwin  had  not  been  told  of  the  wager  with 
the  five  rich  Americans,  Warden  knowing  that  she 
would  never  agree  to  his  taking  the  risk  of  travelling 
without  an  identifying  passport.  In  common  with  the 
other  passengers,  the  young  woman  was  in  a  somewhat 
unstrung  condition  because  of  the  dangerous  waters 
through  which  the  vessel  was  then  known  to  be  passing, 
and  Warden  had  all  he  could  do  to  reassure  her,  with- 
out adding  to  her  fears. 


THE    PASSPORT  177 

Breakfast  was  quickly  disposed  of  by  the  ninety 
and  some  odd  saloon  voyagers  and  not  one  of  them 
had  thought  for  anything  except  the  rail,  drawn  there 
by  the  irresistible  impulse  of  humankind  to  face  ap- 
proaching danger — even  though  it  is  followed  by  a 
retreat. 

Marine  glasses  were  passed  from  hand  to  hand.  An 
innocent  gull  caused  a  shudder  when,  for  the  moment, 
it  was  mistaken  for  a  hostile  aircraft,  while  still  an- 
other bird  of  the  sea,  riding  easily  on  the  crest  of  a 
wave,  was  instantly  recognized  as  a  periscope — by 
those  who  had  never  seen  a  periscope.  There  were 
feminine  exclamations  of  dismay  every  now  and  then 
which,  rising  to  the  bridge  above,  brought  impatient 
and  angry  mutterings  from  the  hardy  mariners  whose 
eyes  never  left  that  wide  expanse  of  water. 

A  quartermaster  was  about  to  sing  out  six  bells  and 
had,  in  fact,  uttered  the  first  of  the  two  words  as  an 
order  to  the  sailor  on  the  deck  below,  when,  from  an- 
other quartermaster  in  the  crow's  nest,  there  came  this 
ominous  announcement  through  the  megaphone: 

"Periscope  three  points  off  starboard,  two  miles 
ahead,  sir!" 

Instantly  the  electric  annunciator  on  the  bridge 
signalled  reduced  speed  to  the  engine  room  below.  The 
captain,  officers  and  sailors  scanned  the  sea  through 
glasses  and  between  flattened  hands. 

"Periscope  submerged,  sir !"  came  through  the  mega- 
phone. 

There  lay  the  danger. 

Until  the  tell-tale  periscope  could  again  be  made  out 
the  navigators  on  the  Autania  could  not  determine  upon 
the  course  that  they  should  take,  unless  it  lay  in  the 
direction  from  which  they  had  come,  and,  in  the  latter 


178  THE    PASSPORT 

event,  it  would  take  valuable  time  to  make  the  turn. 

All  eyes  were  riveted  upon  the  place  where  the  peri- 
scope had,  supposedly,  last  been  seen — it  is  not  easy 
to  permanently  mark  a  spot  upon  the  water — when 
there  arose  from  the  sea,  half  a  mile  distant  and  off 
the  Autanicfs  starboard  bow,  a  submarine's  upper 
structure. 

As  the  gray,  whale-like  craft  proceeded  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ocean  a  bit  of  bunting  was  displayed  from 
her  deck. 

It  was  the  German  ensign. 

"Heave  to  at  once  or  I  shall  sink  you!"  came  the 
signalled  order  from  the  undersea  boat. 

A  sigh  of  relief  came  from  those  on  the  liner,  for  it 
was  plain  that  the  submarine  commander  in  this  case 
did  not  propose  to  lay  himself  open  to  an  accusation 
of  being  an  assassin,  as  had  been  the  case  with  the 
moral  pervert  who  destroyed  the  Lusitania  with  nearly 
all  on  board  in  the  name  of  the  Imperial  German  Gov- 
ernment and  German  "Kultur." 

Observing  international  regulations,  the  Autanid's 
commander  ordered  the  engines  stopped. 

The  position  of  the  submarine  was  such  that  she 
could  have  directed  a  torpedo  at  the  British  merchant- 
man before  the  latter  could  have  steamed  ahead  and 
out  of  range  or  turn  back  and  seek  safety  in  that 
direction. 

The  passengers,  after  their  first  alarm,  were  calmed 
by  the  knowledge  that  no  torpedo  was  to  be  launched 
until  they  had  left  the  Autania. 

Crowding  the  rails,  they  watched  the  proceedings 
with  breathless  interest. 

Within  a  few  moments  an  officer  was  seen  to  step 
out  of  the  access  hatch  of  the  submarine,  followed  by 


THE    PASSPORT  179 

three  sailors.  The  submarine  thereupon  maneuvered  so 
as  to  come  up  slowly  alongside  the  Autania. 

With  inevitable  destruction  of  his  splendid  ship  a 
matter  of  foregone  conclusion,  the  irony  of  Fate,  and 
the  demand  for  the  largest  possible  measure  of  safety 
for  his  passengers  and  crew,  required  that  the  captain 
show  every  courtesy  and  consideration  to  the  enemy. 

For  this  reason  he  ordered  the  accommodation  lad- 
der lowered  so  that  the  submarine's  officer  might  pre- 
sent his  ultimatum  to  those  on  the  Autania  with  as 
little  inconvenience  and  discomfort  to  himself  as  pos- 
sible under  the  circumstances. 

Upon  reaching  the  liner's  deck  the  German  officer 
bowed  gravely  and  politely  to  the  captain  and  to  those 
of  the  passengers  who  had  gathered  to  see  the  formali- 
ties of  surrender. 

Warden  had  rushed  below  as  soon  as  it  was  plain 
that  the  Autania  was  not  to  be  torpedoed  unawares, 
and,  when  the  enemy  officer  got  to  the  top  of  the  ladder, 
he  was  one  of  those  awaiting  the  officer's  arrival  on 
deck. 

"I  regret  the  necessity,  Captain,"  announced  the 
young  German  officer  in  a  pleasant  tone,  bowing  gravely 
once  more  to  those  about  him  and  speaking  as  if  he 
were  about  to  decline  an  invitation  to  tea,  "but,"  he 
added,  "I  am  compelled  to  advise  you  to  abandon  your 
vessel  immediately.  You  will  be  given  exactly  forty 
minutes  in  which  to  put  all  on  board  in  the  boats. 
You  can  send  a  wireless  message,  giving  the  position 
of  the  vessel,  so  that  your  passengers  and  crew  may 
be  rescued  by  a  neutral  ship.  I  believe  the  New  York 
is  less  than  two  hours  away  and  the  sea  is  calm.  There 
will  be  little  danger  for  your  people,  therefore." 

He  bowed  again,  very  stiffly.    The  Autania's  captain 


180  THE    PASSPORT 

nodded  his  head  slightly,  to  show  that  He  understood, 
gave  quick  orders  to  his  officers  who  were  standing  by 
and  then  hurried  to  his  own  quarters. 

The  news  had  already  spread  among  the  passengers, 
all  of  whom  were  scurrying  to  their  cabins  to  gather 
such  personal  belongings  as  they  might  be  able  to 
carry  with  them.  Warden  alone  remained  with  the 
German  officer. 

"Take  me  with  you,  on  board  your  vessel,"  he  said, 
hurriedly  and  speaking  in  fluent  German,  as  the  young 
officer  was  turning  to  descend  the  ladder.  "I  am 
Schmidt — No.  38 — geheimlich!" 

The  effect  of  the  words  was  instantaneous  on  the 
officer.  He  saluted  and  extended  his  hand.  Then  he 
bowed  Warden  to  the  ladder  and  himself  followed  close 
behind.  The  undersea  boat  moved  away  to  a  point 
about  half  a  mile  from  the  Autania,  turned  and  faced 
the  liner  and  hove  to.  The  sea  being  smooth,  the  Ger- 
man officer  remained  outside  the  hatch,  as  did  Warden. 
The  sailors  had  gone  into  the  machinery  room  again. 

Occupied  with  the  maneuvering  of  the  submarine,  the 
German  lieutenant  had  not  spoken  to  the  young  Amer- 
ican, and  the  latter,  fearful  of  disclosing  his  real  iden- 
tity through  conversation,  had  observed  a  discreet 
silence. 

Turning  his  back  on  the  lieutenant  for  an  instant, 
Warden  took  from  a  waistcoat  pocket  a  small  brown 
vial.  At  the  same  time  he  took  from  another  pocket 
his  mask,  which  he  adjusted  in  the  same  manner  that 
an  impersonator  on  the  stage  effects  his  facial  change 
with  his  back  to  the  audience. 

Then,  turning  suddenly,  he  sent  the  vial  crashing 
to  the  steel  deck  at  the  lieutenant's  feet. 

The  German  sank  down  on  the  deck  and  had  hardly 


THE    PASSPORT  181 

touched  it  when  another  vial  was  thrown  with  all  the 
force  at  Warden's  command  into  the  access  hatch. 
Warden  peered  through  the  opening  and  could  see  five 
forms  stretched  out  in  the  space  below  decks. 

He  himself  was  the  only  conscious  being  on  board 
the  submarine! 

Looking  out  over  the  water,  he  could  see  the  officers 
of  the  Autania  at  their  posts  by  the  lifeboats  with  some 
of  the  passengers  standing  about,  apparently  waiting 
for  the  signal  to  put  off.  On  the  bridge  of  the  liner  it 
appeared  to  him  that  the  captain  or  some  officer  was 
looking  at  the  submarine  through  glasses. 

Warden  did  not  know  how  to  signal  after  the  manner 
of  the  mariner.  But  he  took  from  his  pocket  a  small 
American  flag  of  silk.  Pulling  down  the  German  ensign 
with  one  hand,  he  waived  the  Stars  and  Stripes  with 
the  other.  There  was  no  sign  that  his  landlubber 
signalling  was  being  understood  from  the  merchant  ves- 
sel, however,  and  Warden  was  in  despair  about  making 
those  on  the  Autania  understand  him  when  a  bright 
idea  presented  itself  to  him. 

Still  waving  the  small  American  flag  with  his  right 
hand,  the  young  man  lifted  the  unconscious  German 
lieutenant  with  his  left  and  let  the  limp  form  drop  to 
the  deck  again.  Then  he  climbed  over  the  hatch  into 
the  machinery  room  and  brought  up  one  of  the  sense- 
less sailors,  after  much  exertion. 

Evidently  this  performance  was  seen  from  the  liner's 
bridge,  for  Warden  had  the  satisfaction,  a  few  minutes 
later,  of  seeing  a  boat  put  off  from  the  ship,  manned 
by  an  officer  and  a  dozen  sailors. 

As  it  pulled  up  alongside  the  submarine  the  British 
officer  showed  the  amazement  that  he  felt  at  seeing 
Warden  with  a  mask  over  his  face. 


182  THE    PASSPORT 

"Why — what — whatever — I  say,  what  is  the  jolly 
row  here?"  asked  the  astonished  Briton. 

"Never  mind  that  just  now,"  said  Warden,  authori- 
tatively. "Go  back  to  the  ship,  shout  to  the  captain 
that  he  need  not  put  his  passengers  in  the  boats  and 
then  hurry  back  here — quick !" 

The  British  officer  did  not  question  Warden's  right 
to  issue  orders.  Here  was  a  master  mind,  he  reasoned, 
and  a  master  mind  to  be  obeyed — with  Yankee  alacrity. 

Within  fifteen  minutes  the  lifeboat  was  back  again. 
Warden,  in  the  meantime,  had  raised  four  more  Ger- 
man sailors  to  the  deck  of  the  submarine.  He  had 
preferred  to  do  this  himself  as  the  fumes  from  the  vial 
in  the  cramped  quarters  below  deck  might  still  have 
been  powerful  enough  to  overcome  the  British  sailors. 

The  Autania's  men  transferred  the  German  lieuten- 
ant and  the  five  German  sailors  to  their  boat  and  then — 
waited  for  further  orders  from  the  young  American, 
as  a  matter  of  course. 

"I'll  join  you  for  a  look-over,"  suggested  the  Au- 
tania's officer. 

"You  had  better  not,"  replied  Warden,  "for  there 
are  fumes  down  there  that  may  cause  you  to  be  over- 
come. Wait  a  moment  until  I  can  tell  you  how  things 
look  down  there."  He  climbed  down  through  the  hatch 
and  was  gone  for  a  short  while. 

When  he  came  up  again  he  was  carrying  a  quantity 
of  papers,  instruments,  several  uniform  coats  and  a 
little  open  box  full  of  small  articles,  including  watches, 
pocket  knives,  razors  and  other  articles  of  personal 
belongings.  He  handed  the  lot  over  to  the  sailors  in 
the  small  boat.  Then  he  removed  the  mask  from  his 
face,  which  he  offered  to  the  Autania's  officer. 

"Put  this  mask  on  first  and  then  you  go  down  the 


THE    PASSPORT  183 

hatchway  yourself,"  he  said.  "There  are  a  great  many 
instruments  that  you  may  care  to  take  along.  But  be 
sure  not  to  take  that  mask  off,"  he  added. 

The  Britisher  did  as  he  was  bidden  and  went  down 
into  the  submarine.  Warden  took  his  place  in  the  life- 
boat and  awaited  the  return  of  the  officer.  The  latter 
soon  handed  up  instrument  after  instrument,  more 
papers,  several  pairs  of  boots  and  a  big  bundle  of 
charts.  Then  he  came  on  deck. 

"We  will  close  up  the  hatch,"  he  said  to  Warden, 
"and  take  a  chance  on  towing  this  'sub'  to  Liverpool 
or,  at  any  rate,  until  we  meet  one  of  our  own  ships.  It 
will  be  a  jolly  good  prize  to  take  in  port,"  he  added, 
smiling. 

There  was  the  greatest  excitement  on  board  the 
Autania  when  the  lifeboat  put  back  and  the  captain 
heard  the  story  of  Warden's  adventure.  When  he  was 
asked  how  he  had  done  it,  the  young  American  merely 
said  that  he  had  managed  to  give  the  Germans  an 
anaesthetic. 

With  the  deserted  submarine  in  tow,  the  Autania 
resumed  her  journey,  while  the  passengers  enjoyed  a 
luncheon  considerably  relieved  at  the  thought  that  they 
had  met,  and  vanquished,  the  only  German  undersea 
boat  probably  in  that  vicinity. 

Warden  was,  of  course,  the  hero  of  the  hour.  Mary 
beamed  upon  him  with  a  loving  admiration  that  alone 
repaid  the  young  man  for  all  that  he  had  accomplished 
that  day. 

With  his  five  friends  of  the  smoking  room  episode, 
too,  he  had  considerably  risen  in  esteem. 

"That  boy  will  make  good  on  his  proposition,"  com- 
mented McRadden. 

"I'm  not  quite  so  sure  as  you  are  that  anybody 


184  THE    PASSPORT 

could  do  what  he  has  undertaken  to  do,"  replied  Bar- 
hour.  "Do  you  know,"  he  said,  very  earnestly,  "I'm 
half  sorry  I  ever  suggested  that.  It  has  been  bothering 
me  ever  since.  As  it  stands,  I  would  not  be  able  to  go 
back  to  America  while  that  boy  is  making  his  way 
through  those  countries  without  his  papers.  I  would 
willingly  give  him  the  twenty  thousand  not  to  make  the 
attempt." 

"You're  a  poor  sportsman,  Barbour,"  laughed 
McRadden. 

"I've  come  to  believe  it  is  poor  sportsmanship  to 
urge  a  perfectly  sound  young  man,  and  one  of  your 
own  countrymen,  to  risk  his  life  for  a  wager,"  was  the 
reply.  "I  admire  him  for  his  pluck,"  continued  the 
Westerner.  "He's  shown  plenty  of  that  to-day, 
but " 

His  words  were  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  young 
Warden  in  the  lounge.  He  was  greeted  eagerly  by 
the  men  and  a  place  made  for  him  near  the  glowing 
open  fireplace. 

"Still  determined  to  take  us  up?"  asked  Barbour. 
"Really,  a  chap  doing  as  well  as  you  did  to-day  has  no 
right  to  risk  his  life  unnecessarily.  Why,  you  only 
saved  about  eight  or  nine  millions  from  being  lost 
through  the  destruction  of  this  ship  and  her  cargo,  not 
to  mention  the  danger  to  her  passengers  by  having  to 
drift  around  in  small  boats.  Better  call  off  that  im- 
possible wager." 

Warden  smiled.  It  was  not  a  boastful  smile,  nor 
was  there  any  boastfulness  in  his  words. 

"Do  you  doubt  but  that  I  will  get  a  free  pass  across 
the  Channel,  Mr.  Barbour?"  he  said.  "With  or  with- 
out a  passport,"  he  added. 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  they  will  send  you  across  the 


THE    PASSPORT  185 

Channel  in  a  warship,  if  you  ask  for  it,"  replied  the 
packer.  "But,"  he  continued,  "I  am  not  so  sure  about 
what  will  happen  to  you  when  you  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  Germans." 

"We  won't  worry  about  that  until  the  time  comes," 
smilingly  declared  the  young  man.  "I  am  engaged  in 
a  definite  plan  and  I  am  delighted  to  meet  with  oppo- 
sition— your  opposition,  for  it  will  add  to  my  pleasure 
if  I  can  prove  to  you  finally  that  you  were  wrong." 

Soon  after  dinner  the  Autania,  still  with  the  cap- 
tured submarine  in  tow,  headed  into  the  Irish  Sea. 
Most  of  the  passengers  were  on  deck,  trying  to  peer 
through  the  darkness,  when  a  British  destroyer  was 
spoken.  To  this  vessel  the  Autania's  commander  gave 
over  the  submarine,  which  was  to  be  taken  to  some 
nearby  port. 

The  German  lieutenant,  Von  Wenkel,  had  been  kept 
under  guard  in  a  cabin  while  the  five  sailors,  who  could 
not  understand  at  all  how  they  came  to  be  on  the 
passenger  steamer,  had  been  put  under  lock  and  key 
in  the  Autania's  brig. 

Resuming  her  course  towards  the  Mersey,  the  big 
liner  ran  without  lights  and  at  high  speed,  when  sud- 
denly the  lookout  shouted  out  a  warning  to  the  effect 
that  something  was  floating  on  the  surface  off  the  port 
side,  momentarily  revealed  by  a  stray  moonbeam. 

Warden  was  on  the  bridge  at  the  time,  the  captain 
having  invited  the  young  man  to  this  forbidden  ground 
as  possibly  the  highest  compliment  he  could  pay  him 
for  his  services  earlier  in  the  day.  When  the  lookout's 
warning  came  the  captain  ordered  the  searchlight  to 
sweep  the  water. 

"Don't  do  that,  whatever  you  do !"  cried  Warden. 
"The  German  submarines  and  also  their  torpedoes  are 


186  THE    PASSPORT 

fitted  with  selinicum  eyes,"  he  explained.  "These  eyes 
are  affected  by  light  and  the  torpedoes  will  absolutely 
follow  the  light  rays  from  your  searchlights." 

"How  do  you  know  that?"  asked  the  captain  in 
astonishment,  but  at  the  same  time  countermanding 
his  order  for  the  searchlight  to  be  used. 

"I  learned  a  great  deal  about  the  German  submarines 
from  a  German  expert  in  New  York,"  said  Warden. 
"Selinicum,  as  you  know,  is  a  radio-active  metal,  in- 
stantly affected  by  light.  Light  allows  a  current  to 
go  through  this  metal  and  this  current  affects  the 
rudder  mechanism  of  the  torpedo.  If  your  searchlight 
strikes  one  eye,  it  will  energize  that  one  eye  and  cause 
the  torpedo  to  turn  your  way.  As  it  turns  your  way 
the  other  eye  is  energized  equally  with  the  first  and 
the  torpedo  will  be  headed  straight  into  the  light.  If 
you  should  turn  away  your  light  from  the  torpedo 
and  remain  where  you  were,  without  getting  out  of 
range,  the  torpedo,  its  rudder  being  set  straight  for 
you,  would  reach  you.  The  Germans  have  submarines 
without  crews  in  many  instances  and  these  are  directed 
by  wireless  either  from  a  secret  land  station,  from 
another  vessel  or  from  an  airship.  But  these  must, 
perforce,  always  have  a  mast  and  can  never  go  far 
under  the  water's  surface." 

The  captain  was  intensely  interested  in  what  War- 
iden  was  telling  him  and,  while  he  leaned  over  the  rail 
and  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  waters  as  the  big  ship 
plowed  her  way  towards  Liverpool,  he  took  in  every 
word  that  the  young  American  was  saying. 

"These  unmanned  submarines,"  continued  the  latter, 
"have  driving  powers  and  auxiliaries  just  the  same  as 
the  ordinary  Whitehead  torpedoes.  The  wireless 
simply  does  what  a  man  would  do — release  the  differ- 


THE    PASSPORT  187 

ent  appliances  to  do  their  functions.  In  order  to  have 
the  wireless  submarine  go  to  starboard,  the  operator 
in  the  station,  the  steamer  or  the  airship  releases  a 
wireless  impulse.  A  similar  release  of  another  impulse 
fires  the  torpedo.  In  the  former  case  the  released  im- 
pulse affects  the  rudder  and  in  the  latter  case  it  sets 
the  spark  that  fires  the  torpedo.  I  have  no  doubt  but 
many  of  the  ships  sunk  by  the  Germans  so  far  have 
been  destroyed  through  wireless  submarines  that  carried 
no  crews." 

It  was  nearly  midnight  when  the  great  liner  arrived 
at  the  entrance  to  the  river  and,  passing  several  British 
guard  ships,  the  Autania  anchored  for  the  night  within 
sight  of  the  great  British  seaport. 

Warden  was  called  to  the  smoking  room  by  Bow- 
den,  the  veteran  steward  of  the  line,  where  his  wager- 
ing friends  were  assembled.  They  called  him  over  to  a 
corner  of  the  room. 

"Warden,"  spoke  up  Barbour,  who  had  come  to  con- 
sider the  young  man  in  the  light  of  a  protege,  "in  the 
name  of  all  of  us  I  am  presenting  you  with  a  small 
token  of  the  gratitude  that  we  feel  for  what  you  did 
to-day."  He  held  out  an  envelope  that  he  had  in  his 
hand.  "If  we  are  not  mistaken  you  are  going  to  be 
married  some  day  to  a  certain  charming  young  woman 
who  is  on  board  here  with  her  mother.  It  has  been 
whispered  about  the  ship,  between  the  exciting  moments 
that  we  have  had.  This  will  build  a  little  nest  for 
you  two  when  you  get  through  travelling  upon  the 
suggestion  of  five  damn  fools.  Take  it,  old  man. 
You've  earned  it  ten  times  over.  And  with  it  take  our 
blessing  for  yourself,  your  young  wife  and  your  future 
happiness." 

.Warden  was  too  much  taken  aback  to  say  anything. 


188  THE    PASSPORT 

He  hesitated  about  touching  the  envelope  and  finally 
Barbour,  going  over  to  him,  placed  it  in  an  inside 
pocket  of  his  coat  and  then  held  the  coat  closed,  as  if 
to  prevent  Warden  from  taking  it  out  and  returning 
it  to  the  donors. 

"I  don't  know  just  what  to  say,"  began  Warden. 

"Don't  have  to,"  grunted  Jordan. 

One  after  the  other  shook  hands  with  him,  Barbour 
the  last.  As  the  Westerner  grasped  his  hand  he  said, 
almost  pleadingly: 

"If  you  haven't  any  business  to  keep  you  on  this 
side,  go  back  on  the  next  trip  westward  with  me. 
There  is  a  bright  future  for  you  in  America." 

"I  am  grateful  for  your  friendship,"  replied  the 
young  man,  with  a  sincerity  in  his  tone  that  left  no 
doubt  of  the  feeling  he  had  for  this  man,  whom  he  met 
for  the  first  time  on  this  voyage.  "I  am  hopeful  for 
the  bright  future  that  you  speak  of,  but,"  he  added, 
slowly  and  earnestly,  "I  have  business  that  takes  me 
to  France,  to  Belgium  and  to  Germany.  Good  night, 
Mr.  Barbour.  Remember,  I  land  in  England  in  the 
morning  without  a  passport!"  And  he  smiled  mis- 
chievously. 


CHAPTER 

rA  VISIT  to  tHe  British  Foreign  Office  is  awe-inspiring 
at  best,  except  to  the  confirmed  diplomatist.  The 
great,  swinging,  green  felt  doors,  the  serious-faced  men, 
the  general  atmosphere  of  subdued  and  restrained  ex- 
citement, all  combine  to  make  a  lay  visitor,  not  ac- 
climated to  these  conditions,  feel  timorous  and  peu  de 
chose.  If  this  feeling  possesses  one  upon  the  occasion 
of  a  voluntary  visit  to  the  mysterious  regions  where 
the  destiny  of  the  empire  is  controlled,  an  imperative 
summons  to  appear  before  the  imperial  counselors  must 
increase  one's  trepidation  at  least  a  hundredfold. 

So  it  was  with  Richard  Warden,  when  he  was  directed 
to  present  himself  at  the  Foreign  Office  at  five  o'clock 
that  afternoon,  a  scarce  nine  hours  after  landing  for 
the  first  time  on  British  soil,  from  the  Autania. 

There  had  been  some  prospect  of  his  spending  his 
first  day  in  England  in  Liverpool — under  civil  restraint. 
On  reaching  the  landing  stage  his  baggage  was  ex- 
amined in  the  perfunctory  manner  usual  to  the  British 
customs  authorities — for  Great  Britain  does  not  wel- 
come visitors,  alien  or  homefolks,  with  the  immediately 
implied  accusation  of  chicanery  with  which  Uncle  Sam 
greets  the  arrivals  from  foreign  shores — and  both  his 
trunks  and  valise  were  promptly  handed  over  to  a 
porter  for  conveyance  to  the  boat  train.  The  porter 
was  about  to  leave  the  customs  enclosure  on  the  wharf 
when  the  inspector,  with  half  an  apology,  asked  to  see 
JVarden's  passport.  Warden  had  none.  Had  he  mis- 


190  THE    PASSPORT 

laid  it?  In  that  case  the  inspector  would  be  glad  to 
accompany  him  back  on  board  ship  to  search  for  it. 
In  the  meantime  the  luggage  could  be  held  on  the 
wharf.  Warden  calmly  declared  that  he  had  not  mis- 
laid the  document.  He  simply  did  not  have  any.  He 
wished,  however,  to  reach  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs or  somebody  with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 

The  customs  inspector  was  sorry,  very  sorry,  but  he 
would  have  to  consult  with  a  superior  officer  before 
passing  Warden  to  the  train.  He  thereupon  requested 
the  young  man  to  await  his  return  in  a  small  reception 
room  on  the  wharf — another  government  inspector 
would  keep  him  company — while  he  should  look  up  his 
chief. 

The  moment  he  closed  the  door  on  Warden  the  cus- 
toms man's  demeanor  underwent  a  change.  He  ab- 
ruptly ordered  the  trunk  and  valise  taken  to  another 
room  and  told  the  porter  his  services  would  no  longer 
be  required  for  this  particular  luggage. 

Mary  and  her  mother,  in  the  meanwhile,  had  gone 
aboard  the  London  train,  Warden  having  urged  upon 
Mary  that,  for  the  purposes  of  his  self-imposed  mis- 
sion, it  would  be  better  that  they  travel  separately. 
They  would  meet  again  at  the  Savoy,  in  London,  where 
the  ladies  were  to  stop  during  their  stay  in  England. 

The  customs  inspector,  having  found  an  official  with 
a  greater  radius  of  authority  than  himself,  stated  the 
circumstances  of  Warden's  passportless  condition  to 
him. 

"Richard  Warden?  Richard  Warden?"  the  superior 
repeated  several  times,  as  if  trying  to  recall  a  name 
that  he  had  heard  before.  "Wait  a  minute,"  he  said, 
and  he  dashed  off  in  the  direction  of  another  official 
who,  from  the  gold  lace  that  he  wore,  might  easily 


THE    PASSPORT  191 

have  been  taken  for  the  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  After 
talking  with  this  personage  for  a  moment,  he  hurried 
back  to  where  the  first  inspector  stood.  "Mr.  Richard 
Warden,"  he  gasped,  "is  to  be  treated  with  every  con- 
sideration and  courtesy  and  is  to  go  on  this  train  to 
London.  You  are  to  advise  him  that  his  presence  is 
desired  at  the  Foreign  Office  at  five  o'clock  to-night." 

"  'Old  the  train,  then,  quick !"  exclaimed  the  first 
inspector.  "  'Eavens !  Hi  was  'olding  'im,  too !  'Im 
without  h'a  passport!" 

The  other  gave  an  order  to  a  train  attendant  and 
then  started  off  with  the  inspector  to  the  reception 
room  where  Warden  was  awaiting  the  outcome  of  the 
conference. 

Both  officials  made  the  most  profound  apologies  for 
detaining  the  American.  Would  he  have  the  goodness 
to  accompany  them?  He  would. 

They  took  him  to  the  express  for  London,  then  being 
held  for  him — although  he  did  not  know  that — and 
after  seeing  him  safely  in  a  first-class  compartment, 
together  with  his  valise — his  trunk  having  been  placed 
in  the  luggage  van — whispered  to  the  conductor,  who 
was  apparently  much  impressed. 

A  whistle  blew,  a  tremor  ran  through  the  train  as 
the  locomotive  gave  a  convulsive  lurch  forward,  and 
Richard  Warden,  third,  was  on  his  way  across  Eng- 
land without  any  official  American  identification  tag, 
but  with  an  abundance  of  newly  acquired  self-reliance 
and  a  greater  determination  than  ever  to  succeed  in 
his  mission. 

The  knowledge  that  he  was  in  a  foreign  land  natu- 
rally kept  his  mind  and  eyes  upon  the  ever-changing 
panorama  of  English  country  life.  English  architec- 
ture, being  new  to  him,  was  one  fascination.  The  beau- 


192  THE    PASSPORT 

tiful  landscape,  the  agricultural  activity,  the  splendid 
gardens  that  rolled  in  endless  variety  past  his  view 
enchanted  him.  He  thought  of  the  fearful,  useless 
waste  that  war  would  create  in  such  a  peaceful  scene 
as  this  and  he  allowed  himself  to  be  carried  away  with 
the  soothing,  dreamy  enjoyment  the  country,  especially 
in  the  Spring,  brings  to  those  who  have  lived  and  toiled 
amid  the  irritating  hustle  and  turmoil  of  the  congested 
centers  of  population. 

After  two  hours'  travelling  the  train  arrived  at  Bir- 
kendeal,  and  while  the  conductor  and  brakemen  called 
out  the  name  of  the  station  and  opened  the  doors  of 
the  compartments,  preparatory  to  a  twenty  minutes' 
stop,  he  took  the  opportunity  to  stretch  his  legs  on 
the  station  platform.  He  was  standing  near  his  com- 
partment door  when  a  young  man  whom  he  had  met 
on  board  the  Autania  approached  him. 

"I  did  not  have  an  opportunity  to  see  you  again 
after  the — the  adventure  with  the  submarine  yester- 
day," his  boat  companion  said,  a  trifle  hesitatingly. 
"I  say,"  he  added,  as  if  a  new  thought  had  struck  him 
suddenly,  "do  you  mind  if  we  continue  the  journey  to 
London  together?  I  see  you  have  no  one  with  you  in 
there  and  my  compartment  is  a  bit  crowded." 

Warden  could  not  very  well  make  any  objections  and 
the  stranger  departed  to  fetch  his  "traps."  The  latter 
returned  a  moment  later  with  a  satchel  which,  he  said, 
constituted  his  sole  luggage,  as  he  had  sailed  rather 
unexpectedly. 

"Let  me  introduce  myself,"  he  volunteered,  as  he 
handed  Warden  his  card.  On  it  was  engraved: 

JAMES  PELTON, 
Correspondent  of  the  Lynn  Press  Syndicate, 

New  York. 


THE    PASSPORT  193 

"You  are  Mr.  Warden,  are  you  not?"  he  continued, 
evidently  satisfied  with  his  own  answer  to  the  query, 
for  he  kept  right  on  with  the  conversation.  "Unfor- 
tunately I  was  taking  a  nap  through  the  excitement 
of  yesterday  forenoon  and  I  came  on  deck  only  just 
as  you  were  waving  to  us  from  the  U-40,  and " 

"The  U-40?"  exclaimed  Warden  with  unfeigned  sur- 
prise. "How  did  you  ever  learn  the  identity  of  that 
boat.  How  did  you  learn  it  was  the  U-40?  There 
was  not  a  sign  of  it  anywhere  on  board  and  the  Lieu- 
tenant and  sailors  would  not  identify  their  vessel  when 
they  were  questioned  later  by;  the  captain  of  the 
Autania" 

"Oh,  I— I  thought  I  had  Kear'd  it  called  the  U-40 
by  somebody,"  the  other  hastened  to  explain. 

The  signal  for  the  train  to  proceed  was  given  just 
then  and  Warden  followed  Pelton  into  the  former's 
compartment.  The  correspondent  was  evidently  greatly 
interested  in  Warden's  experience  on  the  submarine, 
for  he  at  once  directed  the  conversation  to  the  thrilling 
encounter  the  moment  the  two  were  comfortably  seated 
and  the  compartment  door  had  been  thrown  closed  by 
a  guard. 

"That  is  strange  about  there  not  being  anything  to 
identity  the  submarine  with,"  he  commented.  "You 
were  inside  the  boat,  were  you  not?"  he  questioned, 
eagerly.  "Were  there  no  papers  that  gave  a  clue  to 
her  identity?" 

"Not  a  scrap." 

"But  her  log.  That  surely  contained  something  of 
the  sort?" 

"Only  a  list  of  the  ships  that  she  had  sunk,  I  believe. 
I  did  not  read  it  myself,"  added  Warden.  "All  that  I 
know  is  what  the  Captain  of  the  Autania  told  me." 


194  THE    PASSPORT 

"If  I  am  not  impertinent,  may  I  ask  where  you  are 
bound  for?"  persisted  Pelton. 

"To  London,  same  as  you  are,  I  take  it."  Warden 
was  becoming  bored.  He  much  preferred  to  watch  the 
scenery  and  to  be  allowed  to  remain  engrossed  in  his 
own  thoughts  without  this  incessant  conversation." 

"But  after  London?"  insisted  the  other. 

"That  all  depends." 

"We  are  due  to  arrive  in  London  shortly  after  noon," 
remarked  Pelton,  consulting  a  timetable  which  he  had 
taken  from  his  pocket  together  with  some  other  papers. 
He  put  the  papers  on  the  seat  beside  him  while  he  looked 
over  the  schedule  of  the  trains. 

One  little  white  sheet  of  paper  fluttered,  unnoticed, 
from  the  seat  and  underneath  the  one  across  the  aisle. 
Warden  saw  it  but  paid  no  attention  to  it.  He  was  so 
irritated  by  the  other's  presence  that  he  would  not  even 
save  his  companion  the  possible  inconvenience  of  a  lost 
memorandum. 

"Yes,  at  twelve-fifteen,"  commented  Pelton,  gathering 
up  his  papers  and  replacing  them  in  his  pocket  without, 
however,  having  noticed  the  absence  of  the  stray  sheet. 
"We  might  lunch  together,  if  that  is  agreeable  to  you." 

Warden  did  not  reply,  but  kept  looking  out  of  the 
window. 

He  had  begun  to  have  an  instinctive  dislike  for  this 
man,  although  he  could  not  explain  why.  The  train 
rolled  on,  Pelton  making  occasional  efforts  to  draw  him 
out  on  the  subject  of  his  immediate  plans. 

He  thought  of  Mary  and  wondered  what  she  was 
thinking  of  at  the  moment,  removed  from  him  by  but 
one  or  two  railroad  carriages.  A  great  wave  of 
tender  sympathy  came  over  him,  for  he  realized  the 
viciousness  of  the  blow  that  deprived  a  daughter  of  a 


THE    PASSPORT  195 

feeling  of  pride  and  respect  for  her  father.  It  would 
forever  be  a  black,  evil  page  in  the  book  of  her  young 
life,  especially  were  her  father  to  meet  with  the  pun- 
ishment that  he  deserved  at  the  hands  of  the  American 
government.  He  marvelled  at  the  hand  of  Destiny  that 
had  led  him  into  this  vortex  of  events  and,  by  the  same 
token,  had  brought  him  into  the  life  of  her  whose  father 
was  one  of  the  principal  zealots  in  this  whirlpool  of 
international  intrigue.  It  was,  indeed,  a  strange  course 
that  Fate  had  laid  out  for  him  and 

His  eyes  fell  on  the  bit  of  paper  under  the  seat  oppo- 
site. He  tried  to  look  unconcerned,  but  he  could  have 
sworn  that  Pelton  was  following  his  gaze.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  "Lynn  Press  Syndicate"  man  was  at  the 
moment  absorbed  in  the  beautiful  country. 

No,  he  could  not  be  mistaken.  It  was  German  script 
on  the  sheet  and  the  manner  of  its  arrangement  proved 
it  was  either  a  letter  or  a  complete  memorandum  o{ 
some  sort.  He  began  to  hope  that  Pelton  would  not 
discover  his  loss.  In  fact,  it  became  imperative  that 
he  should  not.  The  paper  began  to  assume  a  huge, 
fantastic  shape.  He  was  sure  that  a  slight  draught 
in  the  compartment  was  causing  it  to  move  and  make 
noises.  It  seemed  almost  impossible  that  Pelton's  at- 
tention should  not  be  attracted  to  it,  the  same  as  his 
own.  Finally  it  became  unbearable  and  he  got  up,  sat 
opposite  Pelton,  to  look  out  of  the  window  at  the 
Cathedral  country  from  his  side  of  the  aisle  and  then 
placed  his  feet,  as  a  shield,  in  front  of  the  truant  bit  of 
writing.  Unfolding  a  newspaper,  he  looked  at  it  a 
moment  or  two,  then  crumpled  it  up  and  tossed  the 
prop  under  the  seat,  effectually  hiding  the  document 
behind  it. 

The    ride    continued   in    comparative    silence,    untfl 


196  THE    PASSPORT 

finally  there  came  the  arrival  at  Euston  Station,  the 
disembarkation  of  the  passengers,  the  cries  of  the  hack- 
men  and  the  porters.  It  seemed  to  him,  desirous  as 
he  was  that  Pelton  should  leave  the  compartment  first, 
that  the  fellow  lingered  unnecessarily.  He  succeeded, 
however,  in  ushering  his  unwelcome  companion  out 
ahead  of  himself,  which  gave  him  an  opportunity  to 
pick  up  the  paper  under  the  compartment  seat.  He 
stuffed  it  in  a  side  pocket  for  later  perusal.  His  ex- 
periences during  the  last  few  months  had  made  him 
suspicious  of  everybody,  and  Pelton  had  seemed  to  him 
to  be  anything  but  what  he  claimed  to  be. 

After  seeing  Mrs.  Berwin  and  her  daughter  safely 
in  a  cab  for  the  Savoy,  he  arranged  for  his  own  trans- 
fer to  a  less  pretentious  hotel. 

While  Warden  had  lost  sight  of  Pelton,  the  latter 
had  not  lost  sight  of  Warden  and  his  friends.  The 
"syndicate  correspondent"  seemed  very  much  on  the 
alert  and  noted  every  movement  made  by  the  others, 
even  to  the  extent  of  asking  the  starter  at  the  cab 
stand  what  hotel  the  ladies  were  bound  for.  He  was 
unable  to  get  similar  information  as  to  Warden,  only 
because  the  latter  had  his  trunk  checked  through  by 
a  baggage  attendant  and  personally  took  his  grips  to 
the  cab,  giving  the  driver  his  directions  before  Pelton 
knew  what  he  was  about. 

A  few  minutes  before  five  o'clock,  after  having  first 
spent  a  few  moments  with  Mary  and  her  mother  at  the 
Savoy,  he  presented  himself  at  the  Foreign  Office. 

He  was  not  kept  waiting,  but  was  ushered  into  an  in- 
ner room  where  a  dignified,  austere  man  sat  at  a  great, 
flat,  mahogany  desk.  The  latter  introduced  himself  as 
Sir  William  Purcell,  Under  Secretary  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs, and  greeted  his  visitor  withi  as  much  cordiality 


THE    PASSPORT  197 

as  it  is  possible  for  a  British  Foreign  Office  dignitary 
to  show. 

"We  have  heard  of  your  achievement  on  the  Au- 
tania,"  said  Sir  William,  "and  we  are  glad  to  welcome 
you  here.  We  understand  you  are  in  England  on  a 
mission  connected  with  the  present  hostilities  on  the 
Continent.  Do  you  feel  at  liberty  to  enlighten  us  con- 
cerning this?" 

"My  visit  here  has  to  do  with  the  war,"  said  War- 
den, quietly,  "although  I  cannot  imagine  how  word  to 
that  effect  could  possibly  have  reached  you  prior  to 
my  coming." 

"In  these  days  of  war,  young  man,  word  comes  to  us 
of  everything  from  every  quarter,  sometimes  from  the 
most  unexpected  quarters,"  smilingly  commented  Sir 
William. 

"Well,"  began  Warden,  "I  am  in  hopes  that  I  may 
succeed  in  interesting  the  Allied  Powers  in  my  plan, 
which  would  end  the  war  as  soon  as  my  plan  was  put 
in  operation.  There  are  some  conditions,  however,  that 
would  have  to  be  considered." 

"And  these  conditions?"  suggested  Sir  William. 

"They  have  to  do  with  the  disposition  to  be  made  of 
Germany,"  replied  Warden,  seriously. 

The  Briton  straightened  up  more  stiffly  than  he  had 
sat  before.  He  looked  with  a  certain  degree  of  sar- 
casm at  the  young  man  before  him. 

"Do  I  understand  that  you -have  constituted  your- 
self a  conqueror  of  armies,  dictator  of  terms  and  Peace 
Tribunal,  all  in  one?"  he  remarked,  in  an  ironical  tone. 
"A  most  remarkable  mission,  indeed,  young  man,"  he 
added,  with  the  suspicion  of  a  sneer. 

"That  is  not  the  question  at  all,  Sir  William,"  spoke 
up  .Warden,  ignoring  the  other's  attitude.  "Let  me 


198  THE    PASSPORT 

explain  my  position.  I  have  made  a  discovery  that 
will  give  one  Power  a  tremendous  advantage  over  an- 
other. The  advantage,  in  fact,  is  to  be  considered  a 
vital  one.  My  discovery,  if  in  the  possession  of  one 
Power,  would  make  that  Power  absolutely  supreme.  To 
put  it  perfectly  plainly,  should  Germany  to-day  know 
what  7  know,  she  could,  within  a  month,  absolutely  and 
completely  vanquish  all  of  the  countries  now  opposing 
her.  After  that,  she  could  absorb  as  many  of  the  neu- 
tral nations  of  Europe  as  she  liked  and  then,  crossing 
the  Atlantic,  conquer  the  United  States." 

Sir  William  drummed  on  his  desk  with  his  fingers 
as  he  looked  across  the  room  without  seemingly  paying 
any  attention  to  anything  in  particular.  He  moved  an 
ink  well  here  and  a  paper  clip  there.  Had  he  been 
anything  else  but  a  Foreign  Office  diplomat,  one  might 
have  believed  him  busy  thinking  up  some  plan  by  which 
to  get  this  madman  out  of  his  room  without  a  scene. 
As  it  was,  Sir  William  had  never  lost  sight  of  young 
Warden's  face  for  an  instant,  while  not  looking  directly 
at  him,  and  he  was  weighing  every  word  the  young  man 
uttered  from  various  angles  while  he  preserved  a  de- 
meanor of  complete  indifference. 

"And  the  proof  of  your  wonderful  discovery?"  Sir 
William  allowed  his  chair  to  tip  back  as  he  turned  to 
face  Warden.  "I  suppose  you  are  quite  ready  to  tell 
us  just  what  it  is?" 

"If  you  mean  the  giving  up  of  the  formula,  Sir 
William,  that  would  be  out  of  the  question.  As  for  the 
effectiveness  of  my  discovery,  I  suppose  that  you  have 
the  report  of  the  Autama's  captain?"  The  reply  was 
given  carefully  and  deliberately.  "If  you  have  this  re- 
port, you  know  that  the  German  submarine  was  cap- 


THE    PASSPORT  199 

tured,  with  all  hands,  without  any  trouble  and  with- 
out anyone  being  even  hurt." 

The  Under  Secretary  looked  keenly  at  the  young 
man. 

"The  report  states  that  you  administered  an  anaes- 
thetic to  the  officer  and  the  crew,  thereby  overcoming 
any  resistance." 

"In  a  way,  quite  true,"  agreed  Warden.  "But  there 
are  anaesthetics  and  anaesthetics.  It  takes  time  and, 
oftentimes,  brute  force  to  administer  the  usual  anaes- 
thetic, does  it  not?  There  was  no  struggle  on  the  sub- 
marine. The  lieutenant  and  I  were  on  the  deck  of  the 
craft  all  the  time.  I  did  not  go  down  through  the 
hatch  until  the  crew  were  unconscious.  I  could  not, 
therefore,  have  given  an  individual  anaesthetic  to  the 
men  without  a  fight  in  each  individual  case,  could  I, 
now?  The  sailors  would  have  overpowered  me,  grant- 
ing that  I  should  have  been  able  to  hold  my  own  with 
the  officer.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  knew  what  I  was 
going  to  do  when  I  succeeded  in  getting  the  German 
officer  to  take  me  on  board  the  submarine,  believing  me 
a  German  spy.  And — "  he  bent  forward  speaking 
earnestly — "I  knew  I  would  succeed!  I  know  I  can 
succeed  in  subduing  Germany,  but  Germany  is  not  to 
be  subdued  at  the  expense  of  the  millions  of  peaceful, 
industrious  people  who  have  no  stomach  for  this  war." 

"And  with  your  plan,  what  would  you  propose?" 
There  was  a  trace  of  growing  interest  in  the  voice  of 
Sir  William,  as  he  settled  down  in  his  chair.  "Really, 
you  must  pardon  me  if  I  look  upon  this  proceeding  as 
a  trifle  absurd.  Discussions  of  this  nature  generally 
take  place  in  the  highest  councils  only  and  I  cannot 
bring  myself  to  look  upon  this  as  a  sane  conversation." 


200  THE    PASSPORT 

"My  ^discovery  is  at  the  disposal  of  tKe  British  and 
French  governments,"  replied  Warden.  "That  is,"  he 
added  quickly,  "the  use  of  my  discovery — not  the  dis- 
covery itself.  You  are  to  send  me  either  to  one  of 
your  own  ammunition  factories  or  to  one  in  France, 
where  I  will  charge  a  quantity  of  shells  which  are  to 
be  used  by  the  Allied  armies,  under  my  direction.  I 
am  to  receive,  at  once,  a  certain  remuneration  for  the 
use  of  my  discovery,  say  ten  million  dollars,  which  can 
ultimately  be  paid  by  Germany  in  the  final  indemnity 
settlement." 

"Ten  millions!"  Sir  William  smiled  sarcastically. 
"There  is  nothing  picayune  about  your  plans,  my  young 
sir!" 

"If  you  will  consider,"  retorted  Warden,  piqued  at; 
this  implied  accusation  of  being  a  mercenary,  "that  you 
are  paying  five  millions  every  day  to  continue  the  war, 
I  think  that  you  can  afford  ten  millions  to  stop  it — 
especially  if  you  can  do  so  without  further  loss  of  life 
and  the  surety  that  you  end  the  war  as  a  victor." 

"You  will  not  state  what  the  nature  of  your  dis- 
covery is?"  inquired  Sir  William,  more  and  more  in- 
clined to  be  friendly. 

"That  would  be  impossible.  Just  how  that  will  be 
finally  adjusted  remains  to  be  seen.  I  have  made  pro- 
vision, of  course,  for  the  perpetuation  of  my  discovery 
in  case  anything  should  happen  to  me.  I  hope,  how- 
ever, to  return  in  order  to  arrange  for  some  trust  to 
hold  the  secret  which  is  too  terrible  an  agency  of  power 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  either  an  unscrupulous  indi- 
vidual or  an  unscrupulous  nation.  You  can  well  im- 
agine  "  Warden  seemed  to  be  deliberating  for  a 

moment  on  the  most  convincing  words  in  which  to  couch 
his  argument — "the  condition  that  would  arise  if  one 


THE   PASSPORT  201 

nation  had  my  discovery  as  its  exclusive  right.  The 
smallest,  most  insignificant  state  in  the  world  could 
become  master  of  every  other  nation,  no  matter  how 
formidable  and  no  matter  how  great  its  military 
strength.  Again,  if  every  country  had  the  secret,  why, 
it  would  simply  be  a  case  of  international  strife  just 
as  it  is  now,  except  that  a  quick  move  would  take  the 
place  of  military  or  naval  superiority  as  the  deciding 
factor  in  a  war." 

"You  do  not  kill  anyone  with  your  plan  of  cam- 
paign ?" 

"I  do  not  even  injure  anyone." 

"In  the  case  of  a  long  battle  line,  how  would  you 
proceed  to  subdue  the  enemy  ?"  Sir  William  was  getting 
much  interested  now. 

"That  is  one  thing  I  should  like  to  get  to  France 
for  as  quickly  as  possible,"  enthusiastically  replied  the 
young  American.  "I  would  have  to  see  actual  con- 
ditions before  deciding  on  the  procedure  to  be  fol- 
lowed." 

Sir  William  rearranged  the  position  of  his  chair  and 
looked  through  the  top  drawer  of  his  desk.  "Let  me 
have  your  passport,"  he  finally  said,  reaching  one  hand 
across  the  table  for  the  expected  document. 

"I  have  none,"  simply  stated  Warden. 

"You  have  none !"  There  was  surprise  in  the  intona- 
tion of  Sir  William's  words. 

"No,  sir,  I  have  none.  I  destroyed  it  three  nights 
ago  on  the  Autania  after  Mr.  Jordan,  Mr.  Barbour, 
Mr.  Clarkson,  Mr.  Quabb  and  Mr.  McRadden — you 
know  the  millionaire  philanthropist — had  wagered  me 
that  I  would  be  unable  to  move  through  Europe  with- 
out a  passport.  Great  Britain,  France  and  Germany 
were  stipulated  as  the  countries  through  which  I  was. 


202  THE    PASSPORT 

to  travel.  I  have  traveled  through  England,  so  far, 
without  a  passport." 

"But,  my  dear  young  sir,"  sputtered  Sir  William, 
seeing  the  dignity  of  the  British  Foreign  Office  going 
to  smash  through  a  vulgar  Yankee  wager,  "my  dear 
young  sir,  this  is  all  too  absurd.  Why,  you  will  not  be 
able  to  go  a  square,  I  dare  say,  without  being  stopped. 
I  really  cannot  see  how  you  managed  to  leave  Liver- 
pool. Did  no  one  ask  you  for  your  papers?" 

"Indeed  they  did,"  smilingly  returned  Warden.  "In- 
deed they  did,  until  word  came  that  the  Foreign  Office 
desired  my  presenec  at  five  o'clock.  Then  nobody 
thought  of  my  passport  anymore.  Now,  you  give  me 
a  letter,  or  a  card — to  General  Merrill,  your  Field 
Marshall,  for  instance — and  no  channel  captain  will 
hesitate  taking  me,  passport  or  no  passport !" 

"In  other  words,  you  are  going  to,  as  you  call  it  in 
America,  bluff  your  way  through?"  If  Sir  William's 
smile  ever  reached  beyond  the  limits  of  just  hovering, 
it  might  now  have  been  called  benign.  "Bluff  it 
through,  in  order  to  win  a  wager?" 

"No,  sir.  Bluff  it  through — if  you  prefer  it  that 
way — to  show  that  an  honest  American  can  hold  his 
own  in  strange  lands,  even  during  strange  times.  And 
now  while  we  are  about  it,"  he  spoke  with  considerable 
feeling,  "do  not  always  bring  in  the  suggestion  that 
every  move  I  make  is  a  mercenary  one.  I  don't  like 
it  and  it  has  no  foundation  in  fact.  A  little  while  ago 
I  mentioned  ten  millions  as  the  price  for  ending  the 
war.  I  do  not  want  that  fortune  for  myself.  I  have 
my  own  plans  for  that  money,  but  I  desire  it  to  come 
to  me  to  do  with  what  I  please.  If  I  can  have  just 
enough,  after  all  this  war  is  over,  to  live  on  quietly  and 
comfortably,  I  shall  be  fully  satisfied." 


THE    PASSPORT  203 

This  statement  of  his  grounds,  on  Warden's  part, 
impressed  Sir  William.  The  massive  dignity  of  the 
Foreign  Office  had  begun  to  crumble  before  young  War- 
den's naive  frankness,  like  a  fortress  under  a  sustained 
bombardment. 

"I  declare  you  are  a  most  remarkable  young  man," 
commented  the  Under  Secretary.  "I  shall  be  very 
pleased  to  hear  of  the  success  of  your  odd  plan.  Of 
course,"  he  hastened  to  add,  as  if  to  convince  Warden 
that  he  did  not  consider  himself  worsted,  "I  am  not  at 
all  convinced  of  its  plausibility.  No,  not  at  all,  but  I 
shall  be  pleased  to  have  a  further  talk  with  you  to- 
morrow morning  at,  say  eleven  o'clock,  when  I  shall 
have  the  head  of  the  War  Office  here.  In  the  mean- 
time"— filling  out  an  official-looking  document — "I 
shall  see  that  you  are  not  molested  while  in  England." 
He  rang  for  an  attendant,  to  whom  he  gave  the  paper 
he  had  been  writing  on,  with  the  order  that  a  seal  be 
affixed  and  that  it  be  officially  stamped.  When  the 
paper  was  returned,  a  few  moments  later,  Sir  William 
handed  it  to  Richard.  "Remember,  young  man,  I  at- 
tach no  present  importance  to  your  mission.  I  am 
giving  you  this  paper  merely  to — well,  to  protect  you 
in  your  ridiculous  wager."  Then  he  arose,  inclined  his 
head  courteously,  and  Warden  bowed  himself  out. 

Escorted  by  the  attendant,  he  reached  the  outer  (door 
and,  having  received  his  direction  from  the  flunky,  left 
the  Foreign  Office. 

Darkness  had  set  in  as  he  made  his  way  towards  the 
Savoy  where  he  had  arranged,  should  he  be  able  to  get 
there  by  eight  o'clock,  to  dine  with  Mary  and  her 
mother.  The  streets,  unlighted  and  dismal  because  of 
the  London  fear  for  Zeppelin  raiders,  were  for  the  most 
part  deserted.  At  one  time  he  was  aware  that  but  two 


204  THE    PASSPORT 

men  besides  himself  were  on  the  block  with  him,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street. 

Suddenly,  in  a  particularly  dark  place,  two  forms 
sprang  out  of  the  shadows  behind  him.  He  struggled 
fiercely,  desperately,  but  one  of  the  assailants  had 
clapped  a  handkerchief  over  his  face  which  the  fellow 
was  trying  to  force  into  his  mouth,  as  he  tried  to  call 
out.  The  other  held  his  arms  back  of  him  as  if  in  a 
vise. 

The  one  holding  the  handkerchief  partly  stuffed  in 
his  mouth  was  trying,  at  the  same  time,  to  go  through 
his  pockets  when  the  two  men  across  the  street,  who 
had  proceeded  somewhat  in  advance  of  young  Warden, 
turned  and  ran  towards  where  the  latter  was  struggling 
with  his  assailants. 

The  assaulting  party  fled  at  the  first  approach  of 
assistance,  but  two  shots  that  rang  out  caused  one 
of  the  fugitives  to  roll  into  the  gutter  while  the  other 
brought  up  short  with  a  shattered  arm.  While  one  of 
the  rescuers  attended  to  the  wounded  assailants,  the 
other  made  anxious  inquiries  as  to  the  American's  con- 
dition. 

"  'Twas  a  bit  of  a  nawsty  mess,  Sir,"  said  the  man, 
apologetically.  "Hope  as  you're  not  injured,  Sir?" 

"Not  at  all,  thanks,"  replied  Warden,  shaking  the 
dust  off  his  clothes  and  readjusting  his  coat,  waistcoat 
and  scarf,  which  had  become  disarranged  in  the  scuffle. 
"But" — with  some  curiosity — "how  was  it  you  folks 
were  right  here  to  help  me?  Are  you  police  officers?" 

"Government  officers,  begging  your  Lordship's  par- 
don," was  the  answer,  given  with  a  show  of  pride  at 
being  government  help  and  also  with  a  slight  trace  of 
contempt  at  having  been  suspected  of  being  merely  a 
policeman.  "JVe're  from  the  Foreign  Office,  Sir,  spe- 


THE    PASSPORT  205 

cially  detailed  to  guard  you,  Sir.  Glad  for  us  nothing 
serious  happened,  Sir." 

"Yes.     So  am  I — for  myself,"  commented  Warden. 

A  small  crowd  had  gathered  about  the  two  fugitives 
and  their  captor  while  Warden  and  the  other  officer 
were  standing  by  themselves,  the  crowd  not  connecting 
them  with  the  shooting. 

The  fellow  who  had  tumbled  in  the  gutter  was  re- 
ported to  be  in  a  serious  condition.  His  name,  from 
cards  in  his  pockets,  was  believed  to  be  James  Pelton, 
an  American  journalist,  Warden  was  told. 

He  looked  puzzled  when  he  heard  this.  He  thought 
quickly  over  the  events  of  the  day.  Then  he  fumbled 
in  his  pockets  and  in  one  of  those  in  his  coat  found  the 
sheet  of  paper  with  the  German  script  all  over  it.  He 
folded  it  carefully  and  placed  it  in  an  inside  pocket. 
His  thoughts  were  interrupted  by  one  of  the  govern- 
ment sleuths. 

"Will  you  appear  at  the  magistrate's  in  the  morning 
against  these  men,  Sir?" 

"Will  they  go  to  a  hospital?"  he  asked  of  the  officer. 

"I'm  afraid  so,  Sir.    One  of  them  is  rather  bad,  Sir." 

"Then  hold  them  in  the  hospital  until  you  receive 
orders  from  Sir  William  Purcell  as  to  their  later  dis- 
position," said  Warden.  "I  shall  see  Sir  William  about 
it.  In  the  meantime,  do  not  let  them  talk  to  anyone 
except  to  one  of  yourselves.  This  is  a  government  job, 
I  think.  Not  one  for  the  police." 

"Very  good,  Sir!"  And  the  two  men  saluted  him 
gravely,  their  chests  high  with  pride  now  that  the  im- 
portance of  their  government  connection  was  firmly 
established  and  the  taint  of  mere  police  affiliation  ef- 
faced. 

It  being  too  late  for  his  dinner  engagement,  Warden 


206  THE    PASSPORT 

decided  to  go  to  his  own  lodgings  and  dine  quietly  by 
himself  before  turning  in.  He  hailed  a  cabby  at  the 
next  corner  and,  as  he  entered  the  vehicle,  was  sur- 
prised to  see  one  of  his  two  rescuers  at  his  elbow. 

"Begging  your  pardon,  Sir,  I'll  ride  with  the  cabby 
and  see  you  safely  at  your  hotel.  Those  are  my  or- 
ders, Sir,"  volunteered  the  man. 

"Jump  right  in  with  me  then,"  laughed  Warden. 
"Have  a  cigar" — and  he  handed  a  weed  to  his  govern- 
ment friend  as  he  lit  his  own — "you  can  take  the  rest 
of  the  night  off  as  I  shall  not  leave  the  hotel  until  nine 
in  the  morning."  He  settled  himself  comfortably  in  the 
leather  and  the  two  rode  on  in  silence. 

And  so  Sir  William  attached  no  importance  to  his 
mission!  Warden  smiled  to  himself  as  he  thought  of 
his  visit  to  the  Foreign  Office.  Sir  William's  words 
came  back  to  him,  "I  shall  see  that  you  are  not  molested 
while  in  England." 

Sir  William  had  indeed  kept  his  word. 


CHAPTER 


IT  was  not  until  he  was  in  his  room,  after  a  modest 
but  much  needed  refreshment  in  the  restaurant,  and 
as  he  was  laying  out  the  papers  that  he  had  taken 
from  his  pockets,  that  he  again  thought  of  the  memo- 
randum dropped  by  Pelton  in  the  railway  compart- 
ment. Drawing  a  comfortable,  old-fashioned  easy 
chair  to  the  table  light,  he  settled  down  to  decipher  the 
German  script. 

There  appeared  to  be  no  head  or  tail  to  the  writing. 
It  looked  like  a  collection  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet 
in  which  the  consonants  were  far  in  the  majority. 

slrcptgcpxgetmluclicjaTnkTcylbylrugprqgcrpc 
ddclbykndcpxsqgliclsczcpeczcrgjltnyngcpctcp 


fpclucllkmejgafzcejcgrcrgfltmlqrykk 

That  it  was  a  message  there  seemed  no  doubt  and 
that  it  was  a  code  message  was  equally  certain.  One 
thing  was  also  plain  —  that  Pelton  was  evidently  not 
Pelton  at  all  and  that  there  was  some  sinister  motive 
behind  the  attack  made  on  him  a  few  hours  before, 
which  only  Sir  William's  thorough  precautions  had 
contravented. 

The  more  he  looked  at  the  German  script  in  his  hand 
the  more  anxious  he  became  to  know  what  the  incon- 
gruous medley  of  consonants  and  vowels  represented. 
He  tried  diverse  methods  of  unravelling  the  code. 

Taking  each  letter  as  representing  the  next  letter 


208  THE    PASSPORT 

following  it  in  the  alphabet,  on  a  guess,  produced  no 
results  whatever.  Accepting  each  letter  as  represent- 
ing the  one  just  preceding  it  in  the  alphabet,  led  to  no 
better  success.  Placing  the  fifth  and  tenth  letters  in 
similar  respective  positions  brought  him  no  nearer  to  a 
solution  of  the  enigma. 

He  began,  systematically,  to  take  the  second,  third 
and  then  the  fourth  letters  in  the  alphabet,  preceding 
the  letters  written  on  the  sheet  and  using  them,  in  their 
turn,  in  place  of  the  German  script. 

The  result  in  each  case  was  exactly  as  unintelligible 
an  arrangement  of  letters  as  in  the  original  writing. 

Having  already  eliminated  the  fifth  letter  preceding, 
he  worked  out,  separately,  the  sixth,  then  the  seventh, 
eighth,  and,  finally,  the  ninth  preceding  letters. 

Finding  no  solution  in  that  direction  he  reversed  his 
scheme  and  began  on  the  second  letter  in  the  alphabet 
following  the  letter  in  the  mysterious  script. 

Thus,  for  the  initial  s  he  got  a  u;  for  the  I  he  had  an 
n;  for  the  r  he  secured  a  t.  Unt! 

Here,  at  least,  was  a  combination  that  sounded  like 
something!  He  worked  out  the  c  which  became  an  e 
and  then  the  p,  which  became  an  r.  Unter! 

A  thrill  went  through  him  as  he  bent  over  his  labors 
and  he  worked  feverishly  on  the  next  letters. 

The  t  became  a  »  and  the  g  an  i — the  c  an  e  and  then 
the  p,  again,  an  r.  Vier!  That  was  the  German  equiv- 
alent for  the  English  word,  four.  The  unter  would 
mean  under  in  English  so  that,  so  far,  he  had  underfour. 

It  meant  nothing  to  him  as  yet  but,  at  least,  there 
was  rational  sound  to  the  combination. 

The  a;  would,  by  his  present  reckoning,  become  a  z, 
the  g  and  i  and  the  e  would  change  to  g. 


THE    PASSPORT  209 

./ 

That  gave  him  zig.     Untervierzig.     Under  forty ! 

Suddenly  there  came  to  his  mind  Pelton's  slip  of  the 
tongue  as  the  fellow  had  questioned  him  regarding  his 
adventure  with  the  submarine.  Pelton  had  inadvert- 
ently called  it  the  U-40,  in  the  absence  of  any  knowl- 
edge on  board  the  Autania  as  to  the  German's  identity. 
Here,  then,  was  something  in  connection  with  the  Ger- 
man unterseeboot — the  U-40 ! 

He  worked  with  renewed  energy. 

t     m     I     u     c     I      »      c    j 

v     o      n     w     e     n     Jc     e     I 

Here  he  Had  Von  Wenkel!  That  was  tKe  name  of 
the  commander  of  the  submarine  which  he  had  van- 
quished. The  next  ten  letters,  amkkylbylr,  became 
commandant. 

The  combination  was  now  complete.  Unier  "vierzig 
Von  Wenkel  Commandant.  The  script  evidently  con- 
cerned the  submarine  which,  luckily  for  the  Autania, 
had  been  put  out  of  commission  before  it  could  do  the 
great  British  liner  any  harm. 

Next  came  ugprqgcrpcddcl.  He  translated  these 
into  wirdsietreffen.  In  English  this  would  mean,  liber- 
ally, will  meet  you  or,  perhaps,  will  intercept  you. 

The  meaning  of  the  message  was  now  plain.  Pelton 
had  received  word  that  the  Autania  would  be  met  by, 
or  intercepted  by,  the  U-40 ! 

Following  up  his  method,  as  before,  he  found  that 
bykndcp  became  dampfer  and  that  xsqglicl  represented 
zusiriken.  Dampfer  zu  sinJcen!  To  sink  the  steamer! 
He  was  getting  along.  Von  Wenkel,  of  the  U-40,  was 
to  meet  and  sink  the  Autania! 


210  THE    PASSPORT 

The  succeeding  letters  worked  out  equally  well. 

sczcpeczcrgfk     n    y    n 
uebergebeti     h    m    p    a    p 

g  c  p  c  t  c  p  y  I  j  y  q  q  r  g  -f 
iereveranlassti  h 

I    q  a  f  I    c  j  j  k    m  e  j  g  a  f    I  y  a 
nschnellmo    g  I  i    c   h  n  a   c 

fugjfcjkqfy.'tcldy 
h  to  i    Ihelmshavenf    a 

f    p    c    I     u    c    I     I     k     m    e    j    g    a    f    z 
hrenwennmo     g    I    i     c    h    b 

cejcgrcrgfl    t  m  I    q  r  y  k    k 
e  g  I  e  i    t  e  t  i    h  n  v  o    n  *   t  a  m  m 

Separating  the  words  made  up  of  the  continuous  let- 
ter code,  he  had  the  message  in  full : 

Unter  vierzig  Von  Wenkel  commandant  wird 
sie  treffen  dampfer  zu  sinken  Uebergebet  ihm 
papiere  veranlasst  ihn  schnell  mogelich  nach 
ffltthelmshaven  fahren  wenn  mogelich  begleitet 
ihn  von  stamm. 

"So,"  thought  Warden,  "it  was  all  planned  from 
the  moment  we  left  New  York!  Mr.  Pelton  was  ad- 
vised that  the  U-40  would  meet  him,  with  Von  Wenkel 
the  commander.  He  was  to  give  Von  Wenkel  certain 
papers  and  bid  him  make  all  speed  to  Wilhelmshaven 


THE    PASSPORT  211 

after  sinking  the  Autania!  And  Pelton  was  to  go  with 
the  submarine  if  it  was  possible.  The  papers!  What 
papers  can  they  mean?  They  are  still  in  Pelton's  pos- 
session, no  doubt,  since  we  got  the  U-40  instead  of  the 
U-40  getting  us.  By  Heavens,  those  papers  must  be 
of  extreme  importance  if  they  had  to  get  them  to  Ger- 
many that  way!" 

He  began  pacing  up  and  down  his  room,  still  holding 
the  translation  in  his  hand.  The  last  two  words  of  the 
script  puzzled  him,  until  it  suddenly  came  to  him  that 
Von  Stamm  was  the  counselor  accredited  to  the  German 
Embassy  at  Washington.  Here  was  indisputable  proof 
that  the  Germans  were  directing  their  campaign  of 
destruction  and  wanton  killing  from  America,  officially 
violating  the  neutrality  of  his  country. 

When  he  awoke  in  the  morning  it  was  daylight.  His 
sleep  had  not  been  restful  for  he  had  lived  again,  in  his 
dreams,  the  eventful  days  of  the  past  months,  with  the 
distortions  and  exaggerations  usual  to  one's  subcon- 
scious activities.  His  first  thought,  as  he  leaped  out  of 
bed,  was  the  code  script.  The  letters  had  blazoned 
forth,  with  a  lurid,  ghostly  light,  throughout  his  fitful 
slumbers,  gathering  import  in  their  ominous  meaning 
as  they  appeared  and  reappeared  to  him. 

He  was  engaged  with  a  cup  of  chocolate  and  a  roll 
when,  through  the  open  doors  of  the  breakfast  room, 
he  saw  his  official  friend  of  the  night  before  awaiting 
him  in  the  foyer.  While  the  hour  was  too  early  for  a 
visit  to  Whitehall  and  Sir  William,  he  decided  to  inves- 
tigate Pelton's  identity  so  that  he  might  be  prepared 
to  give  assistance  to  the  Foreign  Office  in  the  case  of 
the  quasi-correspondent  of  the  Lynn  Syndicate. 

The  government  detective  told  him  that  a  claim  check 


212  THE    PASSPORT 

found  in  Pelton's  pocket,  calling  for  a  piece  of  bag- 
gage, might  lead  to  a  clew.  As  the  detective  had  the 
claim  check  with  him,  he  suggested  that  the  officer  go 
with  him  to  Euston  Station  and  get  whatever  the  check 
should  bring  forth.  It  would,  he  thought,  very  likely 
prove  to  be  the  satchel  the  fellow  had  with  him  in  the 
train  compartment  and  which  Pelton  had  then  declared 
to  have  been  his  sole  luggage.  In  this  surmise  Warden 
was  right. 

An  examination  of  the  satchel,  in  a  corner  of  the 
waiting  room,  disclosed  nothing  incriminating,  however. 
Disappointed,  both  Warden  and  the  detective  decided 
Jo  go  to  the  Foreign  Office. 

"We  shall  take  the  chance  of  disturbing  Sir  William 
before  the  appointed  hour,"  said  the  American. 

Ordinarily  the  heads  of  the  British  Foreign  Office 
do  not  arrive  at  their  posts  until  the  day  is  fairly  well 
advanced  but  on  this  particular  morning  there  ap- 
peared to  be  unusual  activity  in  the  sombre  halls.  Sub- 
ordinates were  flitting  here  and  there,  out  of  one  room 
and  into  another,  never  without  either  an  armful  or  a 
handful  of  official-looking  documents,  and  everyone  of 
them  with  the  solemnity  consistent  with  serious  events 
indelibly  marked  upon  his  face. 

Warden  did  not  have  long  to  wait  before  he  was  sum- 
moned to  Sir  William's  room.  He  took  the  government 
sleuth  with  him,  although  that  worthy  protested  that 
he  should  not  appear  before  the  Under  Secretary  with- 
out a  special  order  to  do  so. 

"You  go  along  with  me,"  Warden  told  him.  "I  am 
responsible  for  taking  you  in  there." 

Sir  William  listened  with  evident  concern  to  the  re- 
cital of  the  events  of  the  night  before  and  bestowed  a 
nod  of  recognition  upon  the  officer — who  had  remained 


THE    PASSPORT  218 

standing  at  attention  at  the  door — as  Warden  related 
how  promptly  he  and  his  partner  had  come  to  his 
rescue. 

He  was  still  relating  the  story  and  was  on  the  point 
of  submitting  to  the  Under  Secretary  the  translation 
of  the  German  script,  when  a  clerk  came  into  the  room 
rather  abruptly,  so  abruptly  that  Sir  William  was  on 
the  point  of  reprimanding  him.  There  was  something 
about  the  action  of  the  clerk,  however,  that  halted  the 
intended  reproof  and  Sir  William  glanced  first  at  the 
paper  that  the  clerk  was  handing  him.  The  Briton's 
face  blanched,  the  skin  of  it  seemed  to  draw  tight  and 
turn  to  a  ghastly,  pasty  yellow.  His  mouth  was  set 
and  he  gripped  his  desk  with  his  free  hand.  Looking 
up,  although  apparently  not  taking  heed  of  anyone  in 
particular,  he  stared  blankly  across  the  room  for  an 
instant. 

"Bad  news  this  morning.  Very  bad  news."  He 
spoke  mechanically  and  as  if  his  throat  were  parched. 
"The  enemy  has  begun  another  drive  towards  Paris  as 
well  as  one  towards  Holland  from  the  South.  An  absurd 
ultimatum  has  also  been  sent  by  Berlin  to  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington.  The  communication  is,  on  the 
face  of  it,  one  that  the  American  government  cannot 
but  interpret  as  a  direct  threat." 

Warden  stood  dumfounded  at  the  news. 

"Under  the  circumstances,  Sir  William,  you  will  ex- 
pedite my  departure  for  the  Continent?" 

He  spoke  earnestly  and  eagerly.  "I  have  a  double 
purpose  now.  I  must  show  this  German  Emperor  that 
he  cannot  do  what  he  pleases  with  my  country,  even 
though  he  has  tried  to  do  so  with  the  nations  of  Eu- 
rope." 

Sir  William  hesitated  a  moment. 


214  THE    PASSPORT 

"If  the  new  turn  affairs  have  taken  does  not  dissuade 
you  from  your  purpose,"  he  said  slowly,  "I  shall  give 
you  a  letter  to  our  General  Staff.  The  figures  you 
mentioned  in  our  previous  interview  will  be  satisfac- 
tory but  I  would  advise  you  not  to  meddle  in  any  set- 
tlements or  to  impose  any  absurd  conditions.  This 
war  is  a  serious  thing  and  we,  who  are  defending  our- 
selves against  the  aggressors,  know  best  what  penalties 
to  impose  upon  those  who  have  transgressed.  Let  those 
matters  be  taken  care  of  by  older  and  more  experienced 
heads.  If  you  are  able  to  accomplish  what  you  say 
you  can  accomplish  you  will  have  need  of  all  your  self- 
restraint  afterwards,  for  you  will  have  done  the  world 
a  gigantic  service,  such  as  has  never  been  rendered  the 
world  before.  You  can  leave  for  Calais  to-night.  The 
letter  I  shall  give  you  will  be  sufficient  passport." 

An  hour  later  Warden,  arriving  at  the  Savoy,  was 
ushered  into  the  Berwin  suite,  to  find  Mrs.  Berwin 
alone  and  on  the  verge  of  hysterics. 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter?"  he  asked  in  surprise. 

"You — you  are  here?"  Mrs.  Berwin  was  evidently 
laboring  under  great  excitement  and  her  voice  was 
hardly  audible. 

"Of  course  I  am  here.    Where  is  Mary?" 

"My  God,  you  don't  mean  to  say  you  did  not  send 
for  us — last  night — to  take  the  night  boat  from  Har- 
wich to  Holland  ?  Oh !" her  face  became  purple 

with  the  anguish  that  she  felt — "Richard!  Mary  went 
to  Holland — on  the  boat — last  night — when  the  letter 
— from  you — came  here.  I  was  too  ill  to  make  the  trip 
so — so  she  went  alone — to  join  you  and — to  bring  you 
the — sealed  parcel." 

"But  I  sent  no  letter  and  no  parcel!"     The  word 


THE   PASSPORT  215 

parcel  suddenly  became  of  sinister  meaning  to  him. 
"Tell  me — tell  me  all  about  it,  as  distinctly  as  you  pos- 
sibly can !"  he  urged. 

A  great  fear  was  gripping  at  his  heart.  Neither  the 
letter  nor  the  parcel  being  his,  there  must  have  been 
some  ulterior  motive  in  the  plan  to  get  Mary  and  her 
mother  out  of  England. 

"Let  me  see  the  letter,"  he  said.     "Is  it  here?" 

"No,"  wailed  the  mother.     "She  took  it  with  her." 

"What  did  it  say?"  he  almost  shouted  the  query. 
"For  God's  sake,  tell  me  quickly!" 

"It  said,"  began  Mrs.  Berwin,  between  her  sobs  and 
moans,  "that  you  had  been  called  to  Germany  suddenly. 
For  Mary  and  I  to  take  the  night  boat  to  the  Hook  of 
Holland  and  to  proceed  to  Kleve,  in  Germany,  by  way 
of  Nymegen,  Holland.  Two  tickets  came  with  the  let- 
ter and  the  parcel.  Mary  took  the  letter  and  the 
parcel,  which  was  to  be  delivered  to  you  in  strict  se- 
crecy. The  other  ticket  she  left  with  me,  for  me  to  use 
later  and  follow  her." 

She  handed  the  strip  of  transportation  to  him.  It 
provided  for  a  first  class  passage  by  train  to  Harwich, 
by  boat  to  the  Hook  of  Holland  and  by  rail  thence  to 
Nymegen,  Holland,  near  the  German  frontier. 

"Good  Heavens,  she  will  be  in  Germany  by  now — 
alone !"  groaned  Warden,  falling  into  a  chair  and  bury- 
ing his  head  in  his  hands.  Then,  straightening  up, 
"Never  mind!  I  shall  follow  her  immediately.  I  was 
to  leave  Calais  to-night.  Instead,  I  shall  follow  the 
route  Mary  took.  You  must  remain  here.  I  would 
never  have  thought  of  sending  you  two  away  from  Eng- 
land. You  cannot  possibly  help  in  the  search  for 
Mary" — he  spoke  decisively  as  Mrs.  Berwin  began  to 
protest  at  being  left  behind — "it  would  only  handicap 


216  THE    PASSPORT 

me  by  having  to  look  after  you  also  while  looking  for 
Mary.  I'll  get  you  a  professional  companion  so  that 
you  will  not  be  alone  and  I  will  advise  you  promptly 
when  I  reach  the  German  border." 

Although  without  definite  hope  of  reaching  her  by  a 
telegram,  he  sent  a  message  to  Nymegen,  to  the  rail- 
road station  master,  asking  that  Miss  Mary  Berwin,  of 
New  York,  if  she  had  not  yet  passed  through  that 
Dutch  city,  be  requested  to  remain  there. 

He  made  his  way  back  to  the  Foreign  Office  as  quickly 
as  he  could. 

Oblivious  to  everything  about  him,  he  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  two  government  sleuths  of  the 
night  before  were  on  his  very  heels,  compelled  to  make 
faster  moves  than  any  two  Britishers  had  ever  been 
known  to  make  before  on  official  business  in  London, 
for  Warden  lost  no  time  in  hailing  a  conveyance  and 
jumping  into  it. 

Sir  William  was  surprised  to  see  him  back  so  soon 
after  his  morning  visit  and  especially  in  the  state  of 
mind  in  which  the  young  man  evidently  found  himself. 

Warden's  eyes  were  blood-shot,  he  had  an  anxious, 
desperate  look  in  his  eyes  and  he  did  not  stand  upon 
ceremony  in  entering  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  Un- 
der Secretary's  Office. 

As  briefly  as  he  could  he  explained  to  Sir  William 
the  circumstances  of  Mary's  departure  for  the  Con- 
tinent. 

"There  was  some  sinister  motive  behind  this  forged 
summons  for  Miss  Berwin  to  leave  London,"  he  urged 
upon  the  British  official.  "As  for  the  parcel  that  was 
sent  to  her  to  be  given  to  me  upon  her  reaching  Ger- 
many, I  am  almost  certain  it  contained  the  papers 
mentioned  in  the  German  code  message  that  I  handed 


you  this  morning.  They — whoever  they  may  be — are 
using  Miss  Berwin,  without  her  knowledge,  to  carry 
important  secret  papers  into  Germany,  papers  that 
were  considered  important  enough  for  special  trans- 
mission to  Wilhelmshaven  by  a  submarine,  after  the  Au- 
tania  should  have  been  sunk." 

"What  is  your  plan  now?"  asked  Sir  William. 

"To  go  to  Germany,  via  Holland,  to-night,"  was 
the  emphatic  reply.  "I  may  possibly  find  that  Miss 
Berwin  has  been  stopped  at  the  Dutch  border — if  my 
telegram  reached  Nymegen  in  time." 

"Then  you  will  not  need  a  letter  to  our  General 
Staff,"  suggested  Sir  William.  "In  fact,  you  had  bet- 
ter not  have  such  a  letter  about  you!" 

"That  is  exactly  it.  I  shall,  however,  need  a  letter 
to  the  British  Minister  at  The  Hague,  to  see  me  safely 
into  Holland  and,  incidentally,  safely  out  of  London 
and  Harwich." 

A  nod  from  Sir  William  indicated  that  he  under- 
stood the  necessity  of  such  a  document.  He  handed  to 
.Warden  a  report  that  he  had  received  on  the  two  as- 
sailants of  the  night  before,  which  Warden  perused 
while  Sir  William  busied  himself  with  some  writing. 

The  report  told  him  that  "Pelton"  would  recover 
and  that  both  men  were  being  held  excommunicado 
pending  disposition  of  their  case  by  the  Foreign  Office. 
Pelton's  real  name,  so  the  report  stated,  was  Schlemm 
while  that  of  his  accomplice  was  Ehrmann.  Although 
neither  of  the  two  had  made  any  voluntary  statement, 
the  secret  service  had  trapped  them  into  divulging  their 
identity  by  placing  them  in  one  room  in  which  a  dicto- 
graph had  been  installed.  The  two  had,  in  this  way, 
thoroughly  committed  themselves  as  being  German 
spies. 


218  THE    PASSPORT 

Sir  William  looked  up  from  his  writing  about  the 
same  time  that  Warden  finished  the  reading  of  the 
report. 

"You  will  take  this  letter  with  you  to-night,"  he  said, 
reaching  Warden  a  long  envelope  that  showed  seals 
and  official  stamping.  "I  do  not  think  you  will  be  in- 
terfered with  on  your  journey — until  you  reach  Ger- 
man territory.  After  that  I  shall  not  be  responsible 
for  your  safety,  but" — he  bent  forward  and  spoke  very 
deliberately,  looking  straight  at  Warden — "I  am  in- 
clined to  believe,  young  man,  that  you  will  be  able  to 
take  care  of  yourself.  Yes — ahem — I  am  beginning  to 
look  more  and  more  seriously  upon  your  self-imposed 
mission." 

Warden  bowed  his  acknowledgment  of  this  con- 
cession. 

"Did  you  receive  a  report  from  the  Autania's  cap- 
tain about  the  infernal  machine  that  was  found  in  my 
trunk?"  he  asked. 

"I  did.  But  I  cannot  quite  reconcile  that  act  with 
the  code  message  this  man  Pelton  lost." 

"Neither  can  I,  Sir  William.  I  rather  think  that 
the  bomb  in  my  stateroom  was  the  act  of  an  individual 
spy  who  did  not  know  that  an  official  spy  was  going 
as  a  passenger." 

As  Warden  was  leaving  the  Foreign  Office,  a  taxi- 
meter motorcab  slowed  down  at  the  curb. 

"Fare,  Sir?"  asked  the  driver. 

"No  thanks,"  replied  Warden,  as  he  walked  along 
at  a  brisk  clip. 

He  went  to  the  Savoy  again,  after  first  engaging,  at 
an  agency,  a  companion  for  Mary's  mother;  finally  he 
reached  his  lodgings,  where  he  looked  over  his  effects 
so  as  to  take  along  as  little  luggage  as  possible.  He 


THE   PASSPORT 

arranged  for  the  storing  of  his  trunk  in  the  hotel  and 
put  all  that  he  needed  in  one  big  satchel,  deciding  to 
purchase  what  new  linen  he  might  get  in  need  of  as  he 
went  along.  He  filed  a  cable  to  his  father  saying  that 
he  was  well.  It  was  the  first  to  be  sent  under  the 
agreement  whereby  he  was  to  notify  his  home  of  his 
safety  at  least  once  a  week,  in  the  absence  of  which 
notification  the  package  he  had  left  with  his  father  was 
to  be  opened. 

There  being  time  to  spare  before  he  needed  to  take 
train  for  Harwich,  he  settled  himself  down  for  a  brief 
retrospection.  He  could  not  efface  from  his  mind  the 
picture  of  Mary  innocently  travelling  into  danger  with 
what  was  probably  a  bundle  of  damaging  papers — 
should  they  be  intercepted  before  she  reached  Ger- 
many. And  after  reaching  Germany! he  jumped 

to  his  feet.  Why,  those  papers  were  very  likely  in 
connection  with  the  proposed  German  operations 
against  the  United  States !  No,  he  must  not  lose  any 
time  tracing  Mary  and  the  mysterious  sealed  packet. 

It  was  quite  dark  when  he  left  his  hotel,  valise  in 
hand,  just  in  time  to  hear  called  out,  from  the  curb: 

"Fare,  Sir?" 

Looking  up,  he  recognized  the  driver  who  had  so- 
licited his  patronage  in  front  of  the  Foreign  Office, 
some  hours  before. 

"You're  a  hustler,"  he  said  to  the  man,  smiling. 
"Go  ahead.  Get  me  to  the  Harwich  train." 

While  he  did  not  know  the  exact  length  of  time  it 
should  take  to  drive  to  the  railroad  station  in  Liver- 
pool Street,  he  felt  that  they  had  been  on  the  way  a 
long  time  when  he  suddenly  roused  himself  from  a 
reverie.  Also,  the  fact  that  they  were,  apparently,  in 
the  suburbs  made  him  take  notice  of  the  course  the 


220  THE    PASSPORT 

motorcab  was  taking.  He  opened  the  door  and  leaned 
out  from  the  side  of  the  cab. 

"Here!"  he  shouted.     "Where  are  you  going?" 

"Get  you  there  in  a  moment,  Sir!"  was  the  cheerful 
reply  from  the  driver's  seat.  At  the  same  time  the 
car  seemed  to  take  on  a  new  burst  of  speed  that  sent 
the  dust  flying  over  the  road  in  a  dense,  obscuring 
cloud. 

A  moment  later,  after  consulting  his  watch  by  the 
glow  of  his  cigar,  and  seeing  that  the  car  was  still 
racing  along  the  country  road,  he  again  leaned  out  of 
the  vehicle. 

"You  stop  right  here !"  he  ordered,  angrily,  making 
a  threatening  gesture  with  his  right  hand.  "I  do  not 
believe  that  you  know  where  you  are  going!" 

The  speed  not  diminishing,  it  began  to  dawn  upon 
him  that  he  was  at  the  mercy  either  of  a  driver  gone 
mad  or  of  a  designing  conspirator. 

In  the  hope  of  attracting  outside  attention  he  swung 
his  valise  at  arm's  length  out  of  the  cab,  shouting 
meanwhile  at  the  driver. 

It  was  impossible  to  jump  from  the  car  at  the  speed 
it  was  making. 

His  indecision  as  to  what  course  to  pursue  was  in- 
terrupted at  that  moment  by  a  revolver  shot. 

At  the  same  time  a  heavy  motorcar  came  out  of 
the  darkness,  its  headlights  gleaming  through  two 
powerful  beams,  tearing  down  the  country  road  after 
the  fleeing  taximeter  vehicle. 

An  instant  later  the  touring  car,  on  the  running 
board  of  which  stood  a  man,  whom  he  recognized  as  one 
of  the  two  Foreign  Office  secret  agents,  came  alongside 
his  own  car.  The  government  agent  held  a  revolver 


THE    PASSPORT  221' 

and,  as  the  two  cars  raced  abreast  of  each  otKer,  he 
pointed  it  at  Warden's  driver. 

"Stop  instantly,  or  I'll  shoot!"  jelled  the  govern- 
ment official. 

Without  waiting  for  his  driver  to  obey  or  disobey 
the  order,  Warden  opened  the  door  of  the  cab  nearest 
to  the  pursuing  motor  and  flung  his  satchel  into  the 
touring  car's  tonneau. 

Then,  before  his  driver  knew  what  was  happening,  he 
leaned  far  out  and  leaped  from  the  running  board  of 
the  cab  to  that  of  the  big  car.  At  the  same  time  the 
big  car  slowed  down.  As  it  did  so  and  the  cab  drew 
away  in  the  lead,  two  well  directed  shots  from  the 
agent's  revolver  punctured  the  rear  tires  of  the  taxi. 

As  the  shots  were  fired  the  government  car  stopped 
while  the  smaller  vehicle,  skidding  in  the  sand,  toppled 
over  on  the  side  of  the  road.  The  two  agents  ran  to 
the  wreckage  and  pulled  from  underneath  the  cab  the 
bruised  and  dazed  chauffeur.  He  was  bundled  into  the 
touring  car's  tonneau,  between  the  two  government 
agents,  while  Warden  was  bidden  to  take  his  seat  be- 
side the  driver.  Then  the  big  car  was  turned  back  in 
the  direction  from  which  it  had  come. 

"We  could  not  imagine  where  you  were  bound  for," 
said  one  of  the  officers  to  Warden.  "We  were  escort- 
ing you  to  the  train,  as  we  thought,  until  we  saw  the 
cab  race  into  the  country.  When  you  swung  your 
valise  we  knew  something  was  wrong." 

As  he  talked,  he  and  the  other  secret  service  agents 
searched  the  semi-conscious  chauffeur.  The  fellow  de- 
clined to  answer  questions.  Nothing  was  found  upon 
him  to  indicate  who  he  was  beyond  his  license  as  a 
driver. 


222  THE    PASSPORT 

In  his  official  record  book,  in  which  every  driver  of 
&  public  conveyance  in  England  must  enter  the  hailing 
point  and  the  destination  of  each  fare  carried,  there 
was  an  entry  that  interested  Warden  mightily,  how- 
ever. It  referred  to  a  call,  on  the  night  before,  from 
the  Hotel  Savoy  to  the  railroad  station  in  Liverpool 
Street — the  train  for  Harwich.  The  "fare"  was  a 
woman  according  to  the  entry,  and  Warden  figured 
that  this  lone  traveller  was  hastening  to  the  Harwich 
train  in  the  same  cab  that  he  had  just  abandoned, 
about  the  time  that  he  was  being  held  up  by  "Pelton" 
and  his  accomplice.  There  was  no  question  in  his  mind 
but  that  the  "fare"  was  Mary  Berwin,  and  he  gave  this 
theory  to  the  government  men  for  use  in  the  case  of 
the  chauffeur-prisoner. 

The  big  car  was  making  slower  headway  through  the 
(darkness  and  as  the  houses  became  more  numerous. 
The  road,  however,  seemed  deserted  and  few  lights 
blinked  from  windows  along  the  way.  The  fear  of  the 
Zeppelins  was  strong  upon  these  peaceful  hearths  and 
roving  bands  of  marauders,  against  which  they  might 
have  been  warned,  could  not  have  kept  the  country  res- 
idents to  their  own  doors  more  effectually. 

There  was  still  time  to  catch  the  train — which  leaves 
Liverpool  Street  Station  nightly  at  eight  o'clock — un- 
less an  unforseen  mishap  should  be  met  with. 

One  of  the  agents  alighted  from  the  car  with  Warden 
when  it  drew  up  at  the  railroad  station,  and  started  for 
the  train  with  him. 

"Are  you  to  go  to  Harwich  with  me?"  Warden  in-* 
quired. 

"Those  are  my  orders,  sir." 

"Then  I  suppose  we  can  travel  together?" 

"I  think  it  would  be  better  for  me  to  leave  you  at 


THE    PASSPORT  228 

the  gate  here,  sir.     I'll  be  close  at  hand,  however." 

Warden  presented  his  ticket  to  an  official  who  was 
examining  the  transportation  of  all  passengers. 

"Your  name,  sir?"  this  official  asked,  politely  and 
pleasantly. 

"Richard  Warden !" 

A  reference  to  a  list  he  had,  caused  the  man  te  sa- 
lute. 

"You — you  have  papers?" 

Warden  showed  the  sealed  and  officially  marked  en- 
velope that  he  had  in  an  inside  coat  pocket.  There 
was  another  salute,  and  then: 

"Very  well,  sir.     Pass  right  on,  sir." 

A  moment  later  Warden  was  in  his  compartment. 
There  he  found  two  other  passengers,  a  man  and  a 
woman,  who  had  entered  just  as  he  neared  the  open 
door.  Before  the  door  was  closed  by  a  railroad  porter, 
a  third  passenger,  a  bearded  man,  climbed  in  and  took 
a  seat  near  the  end  furthermost  from  where  Warden 
was  sitting,  but  opposite  to  the  other  man  and  the 
woman. 

During  the  two  hours'  run  to  Harwich  the  man  and 
woman  offered  Warden  their  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines. The  man  went  so  far  in  his  friendly  overtures 
as  to  hand  him  a  glass  with  an  offer  of  refreshment. 
Before  Warden  had  an  opportunity  to  either  accept  or 
refuse  the  beverage,  the  bearded  stranger  suddenly 
started  up  from  his  seat  and,  quite  accidentally, 
bumped  the  extended  hand  that  held  the  glass,  causing 
it  to  fall  and  spill  its  contents  on  the  floor  of  the  car. 
Something  about  the  incident  and  the  bearded  man's 
movement  caused  Warden  to  decline  a  second  offering. 
A  few  minutes  before  ten  o'clock  the  train  pulled 
into  the  Harwich  terminal  where  the  steamship  Javaan 


224.  THE    PASSPORT 

lay  moored  across  the  landing  wharf.  The  couple 
were  the  first  to  leave  the  compartment.  The  bearded 
man  followed  closely  on  Warden's  heels. 

"I  cannot  go  further,"  he  whispered  as  he  stopped 
for  an  instant  at  the  compartment  door.  "Watch  out 
closely  to-night.  Lock  your  stateroom  door  and  trust 
nobody.  Especially  not  the  two  you  travelled  with  to- 
night. I  am  sure  they  tried  to  drug  you  with  that 
glass  they  offered  you." 

"But  they  did  not  know  I  would  be  on  the  train 
since,  if  your  idea  is  correct,  one  of  their  own  men  was 
to  kidnap  me  in  his  motorcab,"  protested  Warden. 

"German  spies  take  no  chances.  They  will  have 
several  on  the  same  trail  always,  in  case  one  method 
fails.  Rest  assured  they  knew  it  as  soon  as  you  did 
yourself  that  the  kidnapping  had  failed."  Then  the 
bearded  man  disappeared. 

"Gentlemen  this  way!  Ladies  this  way!"  called  out 
one  of  the  Javaan's  officers. 

Passports  are  of  double  service  to  married  folks 
sailing  by  the  Harwich  route  for,  except  in  the  case  of 
those  travelling  in  connubial  bliss,  the  men  are  kept  in 
one  section  of  the  "Hook"  boats  while  the  women  are 
concentrated  in  an  Adamless  Eden  at  the  other  end. 

The  British  inspector  at  the  single  men's  gang  plank 
passed  Warden  without  a  question,  which  would  have 
made  the  American  wonder  except  that  he  saw  his 
bearded  travelling  companion  at  the  inspector's  elbow. 

There  were,  apparently,  less  than  fifty  passengers 
for  the  Javaan  and  Warden  was  soon  esconced  in  a 
more  or  less  comfortable  stateroom.  A  preliminary 
wheeze  or  two  was  followed  by  a  hoarse,  deep-toned  blast 
on  the  whistle  as  the  Dutch  steamship  began  moving 
away  from  the  wharf.  Looking  through  the  port,  War- 


THE    PASSPORT  225 

clen  noted  that  there  were  none  of  the  harbor  lights 
usually  seen  at  a  night  departure.  The  dense  gloom 
outside  was  intensified  by  an  occasional  flare  of  a 
searchlight,  mainly  directed  at  the  heavens,  and  for 
the  rest  there  were  only  the  shouts  of  the  matrozen, 
as  they  hurried  here  and  there  on  deck  overhead,  and 
the  rhythmic  wash-wash  of  the  seas  against  the  Javaan's 
side. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

THB  intermittent  stopping,  backing  and  going  for- 
ward again  of  the  steamer  awakened  him  just  as  the 
day  was  breaking.  From  the  port  in  his  room  he  saw 
the  Dutch  landscape — fields  over  which  hung  a  flaky 
mist  in  lumps,  like  whipped  cream  unevenly  distributed 
over  a  big  pudding.  There  were  large  numbers  of  black 
and  white  cows,  each  animal  with  a  cover  of  canvass 
strapped  over  its  back,  for  all  the  world  like  a  pet 
house  dog  with  a  blanket.  This,  he  was  later  told  by  a 
steward,  was  to  protect  the  cattle  from  the  heavy  dew 
common  to  the  Low  Lands. 

He  had  been  anxious  to  interview  the  stewardesses 
on  the  Javaan,  in  order  to  find  the  one,  if  possible,  who 
had  attended  Mary  on  the  crossing  of  the  night  before ; 
for  the  Javaan  was  making  a  "double-header,"  her  sis- 
ter ship,  the  Batavier,  with  which  she  usually  alternated, 
being  temporarily  out  of  commission.  But  the  separa- 
tion of  the  sexes  on  the  Hook  boats  also  separated  the 
stewards  and  the  stewardesses,  so  that  the  latter  were 
not  accessible  to  Warden  when  he  came  on  board  at 
night  and  he  had  to  content  himself  with  waiting  for 
the  hour  of  debarkation  before  he  could  hope  to  get  the 
information  that  he  longed  for. 

A  night  fog  had  caused  some  three  hours  of  delay 
and  it  was  nearly  seven  o'clock  before  he  saw  the  haw- 
sers made  fast  at  the  landing  stage. 

On  the  deck  he  found  the  couple  who  had  been  in  the 
London-Harwich  train  with  him  and  it  seemed  to  him 


THE    PASSPORT  227 

that  they  eyed  him  with  more  than  passing  curiosity. 
Ke  wandered  about,  making  inquiries  of  stewardesses 
as  he  met  them  in  their  neat  blue-white  uniforms  of  linen 
and  their  little  white,  fluted  caps.  One  after  the  other 
answered  him  in  the  negative.  None  had  had  a  Miss 
Mary  Berwin  as  a  passenger  on  the  preceding  eastward 
trip  of  the  Javaan.  Finally,  he  found  one  who  was 
sure,  from  the  description  that  he  gave  of  Mary,  that 
the  young  woman  had  been  one  of  her  passengers,  al- 
though she  did  not  remember  the  name.  She  was  with 
two  other  women,  of  about  her  own  age,  said  this  stew- 
ardess, her  companions  being  evidently  Germans.  The 
one  who  answered  the  description  of  Mary  Berwin  had 
kept  to  her  room  and  had  not  required  any  special  ser- 
vices, except  the  usual  chocolate  and  toast  just  be- 
fore landing  in  the  morning. 

"Now  that  I  of  it  think  a  little  more,"  added  the 
stewardess,  when  the  matter  had  been  allowed  to  thor- 
oughly permeate  her  brain,  "I  found  a  package  that 
by  the  young  lady  was  left  behind.  It  had  the  name 
of  a  gentleman  written  on  it.  Wait,  please,  a  moment." 
She  hurried  away,  to  return  a  few  moments  later  with! 

a  sealed  packet,  doubly  secured  with  twine  and 

addressed  "Richard  Warden,  Esqre.,  To  Be  Delivered 
by  Hand." 

When  Warden  made  a  move  as  if  to  take  the  packet 
from  her,  saying  he  knew  the  one  for  whom  it  was  in- 
tended, the  stewardess  withdrew  her  hand  and  held  the 
packet,  hesitatingly,  behind  her  back. 

"The  young  lady  will  assuredly  make  inquiries,"  she 
said.  "And — and  I  shall  likely  a  little  present  receive 
because  I  have  it  safely  kept  for  her." 

"I  think  I  can  arrange  it  all  to  your  satisfaction." 
Warden  took  some  personal  letters,  in  their  original 


228  THE    PASSPORT 

envelopes,  from  his  pocket.  "In  the  first  place" — he 
showed  her  his  name  on  several  of  the  envelopes — "you 
see,  I  am  the  one  to  whom  the  parcel  is  addressed. 
Now,  as  for  the  other" — he  extracted  a  gold  piece  from 
his  change  wallet — "I  think  this  will  cover  any  little 
present  the  young  lady  might  have  made  you."  The 
trade  was  concluded  with  avidity,  no  less  on  his  part 
than  on  that  of  the  stewardess,  and  he  lost  no  time 
in  carefully  stowing  the  packet  away  in  a  pocket  from 
which  it  should  have  no  opportunity  to  stray.  He  felt 
sure  now  that  he  would  reach  Mary  before  she  crossed 
the  frontier  for  she  would,  undoubtedly,  miss  the  pack- 
age that  he  was  supposed  to  be  in  need  of  and  would 
make  inquiries  as  soon  as  she  discovered  her  loss. 

He  engaged  a  compartment  for  his  exclusive  use  on 
the  accommodation  train  to  Rotterdam — a  ride  of 
three-quarters  of  an  hour — so  that  he  might  have  an 
opportunity  to  study  the  contents  of  the  packet  at  his 
leisure  and  in  privacy. 

The  doors  were  being  closed  on  the  compartments 
and  he  was  just  stepping  into  his  own  when: 

"Alles  gereed!"  came  from  the  several  train  em- 
ployes. 

He  had  settled  himself  comfortably  on  the  super-up- 
holstered seat  at  the  window,  as  his  door  was  slammed 
shut,  when  he  saw  a  commotion  on  the  deck  of  the  Ja- 
vaan,  across  the  wharf.  Two  women  were  gesticulat- 
ing frantically  at  the  steamer  end  of  the  gang-plank 
with  the  stewardess  who  had  exchanged  the  sealed 
packet  for  his  sovereign  pointing  as  frantically  towards 
the  train  on  which  he  was. 

"Afluiden!"  The  order  from  the  conductor  was  fol- 
lowed immediately  by  the  ringing  of  a  big  bell  on  the 
platform  and  the  train  jogged  ahead,  just  as  the  two 


THE    PASSPORT  229 

excited   women    and    the    stewardess    rushed   pell-mell 
down  the  plank  to  the  landing  stage. 

He  saw  the  whole  performance  from  the  window  of 
his  compartment  and  he  divined  the  truth  instantly. 
He  was  glad  the  train  was  moving.  As  it  drew  clear 
of  the  wharf,  at  a  fair  rate  of  speed,  he  leaned  his  head 
out  of  the  window  and  saw  three  women  waving  their 
arms  wildly  at  the  fast  disappearing  coaches. 

The  contents  of  the  sealed  packet  proved  a  revela- 
tion to  him.  They  formed  an  eloquent  if  unpleasant 
testimonial  to  the  thoroughness  of  the  German  system 
of  espionage.  There  were  drawings,  on  onion-skin  pa- 
per, evidently  executed  by  a  master  hand,  of  the  de- 
fenses of  New  York,  Boston,  Charleston  and  the  en- 
trance to  Chesapeake  Bay.  Other  maps  showed,  in  as 
great  detail,  available  points  along  the  American  At- 
lantic coast,  from  Penobscot  Bay  to  Tybee  Roads, 
where  landings  of  troops  might  be  effected.  There  was 
one  excellent  sketch  of  the  eastern  point  of  Long  Island, 
with  no  detail  of  depth  of  water,  width  of  channel  and 
availability  of  converging  roads  omitted.  A  sheet, 
twenty  by  twenty-five  inches,  was  filled  with  closely 
written  data,  which  he  found  were  estimates  of  the  va- 
rious National  Guards,  regular  troops,  naval  militias, 
police  in  the  coast  cities  and  the  exact  place  where  each 
of  these  bodies  was  located. 

Apparently  no  fact  was  lacking  in  the  information 
conveyed  on  these  wonderfully  arranged  sheets  of  onion 
skin  paper,  the  sheets  so  thin  that,  while  there  were  a 
dozen  and  more  of  them,  they  made  a  packet  that 
would  hardly  have  required  double  postage  if  sent 
through  the  mails. 

His  first  objective  point  in  Rotterdam  was  the  office 
of  the  American  Consul-General  where,  having  carefully 


230  THE    PASSPORT 

resealed  the  packet  of  maps,  he  placed  it  in  the  con- 
sular safe  with  the  injunction  to  the  American  repre- 
sentative not  to  give  it  up  to  anyone  except  himself,  in 
person,  under  any  pretext  whatsoever. 

"The  only  person  who  may  open  that  parcel  is  the 
American  Minister  at  The  Hague,'*  he  said.  "It  is 
possible  that  I  may  request  you,  later,  to  deliver  it 
personally  to  the  American  Legation." 

Following  the  visit  to  his  own  Consulate,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  that  of  Great  Britain,  where  he  delivered  the 
envelope  given  him  by  Sir  William,  with  the  request 
that  it  be  forwarded  immediately  to  the  British  Min- 
ister at  the  Dutch  capital.  The  conveyance  of  so  im- 
portant a  document  entailed  considerable  red  tape  and 
a  receipt  was  made  out  in  due  form,  attested  by  several 
of  the  consular  clerks,  and  handed  over  to  Warden. 
He  had  not  looked  for  a  receipt  but,  when  he  received 
it,  an  idea  occurred  to  him  and  he  folded  it  and  placed 
it  carefully  in  his  pocket. 

The  afternoon  found  him  at  the  picturesque  town  of 
Nymegen,  on  the  Waal,  a  tributary  of  the  Rhine,  and 
a  fraction  over  six  miles  from  the  German  frontier. 

A  sturdy,  kindly-faced  man,  in  civilian  uniform, 
proved  to  be  the  station  master  to  whom  Warden  had 
sent  his  telegram  from  London.  Yes,  he  had  received 
the  message  and  had  been  enabled  to  intercept  the 
young  lady,  who  had  remained  at  a  local  hotel  during 
the  night  although  two  women  who  appeared  to  be 
travelling  with  her,  upon  the  arrival  at  Nymegen  had 
tried  hard  to  make  her  continue  her  journey.  Later  in 
the  day  the  two  women  had  taken  a  train  westward 
again,  apparently  greatly  disturbed  over  something. 
They  had  made  inquiries  regarding  the  possible  finding, 
in  the  Nymegen  railroad  station,  of  a  sealed  packet  of 


THE    PASSPORT  231 

papers — Inheritance  papers  they  had  called  them. 
Miss  Berwin  had  not  accompanied  them  on  the  west- 
ward trip  but  had  remained  at  the  hotel. 

Warden  was  breathless  with  excitement.  He  wanted 
to  run  as  fast  as  he  could  to  the  little  Hotel  Gelderland. 

"Yes — yes !"  he  said,  eagerly,  when  the  station  mas- 
ter stopped. 

"Then  a  telegram  came  this  forenoon,"  continued 
the  man,  "and  Miss  Berwin  at  once  engaged  a  motor- 
car to  take  her  across  the  border." 

Warden's  heart  sank  when  he  was  told  that  Mary 
had,  after  all,  gone  into  Germany.  He  thanked  the 
station  master  and  slipped  the  man  something  for  his 
trouble.  Then  he  set  about  the  task  of  following  Mary 
into  the  enemy's  country. 

He  felt  a  new  and  strange  weight  on  his  shoulders. 
Heretofore  he  had  dealt  with  men — with  individuals. 
He  had  been  able  to  identify  those  against  whom  his 
efforts  were  directed,  to  put  each  in  his  proper  place, 
measure  each  by  his  proportionate  strength  and  im- 
portance. 

Now,  all  this  was  changed. 

A  rock  loomed  up  on  the  horizon — the  horizon  being 
the  international  line  between  Prussia  and  the  Nether- 
lands. 

He  felt  as  if  he  stood  apart,  not  as  the  giant  of 
which  he  had  dreamt  but  as  a  small  solitary  figure  op- 
posed to  a  Gibraltar,  bent  upon  crumbling  the  great 
rock,  single-handed  and  with  nothing  to  aid  him  ex- 
cept that  knowledge  which,  of  all  the  billion  human 
brains  in  the  world,  reposed  in  his  brain  only. 

Dutch  soldiers  stood  in  groups  all  about  him.  These 
were  on  furlough,  on  visits  to  their  homes  and  waiting 
for  trains.  They  eyed  him  curiously  but  they  were 


232  THE    PASSPORT] 

civil,  as  DutcK  soldiers  invariably  are.  He  called  tKe 
station  master  to  him  again,  on  a  second  thought. 

"Those  two  women  who  were  with  Miss  Berwin,"  he 
said.  "They  are  likely  to  return  here.  It  will  be  quite 
unnecessary  to  give  them  any  information  regarding 
me  or  the  inquiries  that  I  have  made.  You  have  not,  in 
fact,  seen  me.  You  understand." 

The  railroad  man  understood  and  Warden  gave  him 
another  gold  piece,  to  make  the  understanding  better. 

A  motorcar  was  soon  engaged  for  the  journey  to 
Cleve,  some  twelve  miles,  Warden  preferring  this  mode 
of  travel  to  the  frontier  train,  which  would  have  en- 
tailed unnecessary  delays  and  detentions. 

After  a  short  but  speedy  run  he  reached  the  line. 
Rolling  along  the  fine,  smooth  road  he  could  see,  before 
the  car  came  to  the  border  patrol,  the  Dutch  sentries. 
He  was  stopped  a  moment  later  and  his  papers  de- 
manded. He  asked  for  the  officer  in  charge.  When 
that  functionary  appeared,  Warden  handed  him  the 
receipt  of  the  British  Consul-General,  which  gave  the 
details  of  the  delivery  of  a  packet,  for  the  British  Min- 
ister at  The  Hague,  "by  Richard  Warden,  Esqre.,  from 
the  British  Foreign  Office."  The  Dutch  officer  took 
this  to  mean  that  Warden  was  of  the  British  Foreign 
Office  and  he  raised  his  eyebrows  in  wonder,  at  the 
same  time  surveying  Warden  with  respectful  interest. 

"Surely,  you — an  Englishman — are  not  going  to 
risk  crossing  the  frontier?"  he  asked,  incredulously. 

"My  dear  sir,  I  fully  intend  to  cross  it  and  to  get 
some  distance  beyond,  too.  It  is  a  matter  of  life  and 
death  and  involves  a  young  woman's  safety.  .  .  .  Do 
you  happen  to  know  of  a  Miss  Mary  Berwin  having 
passed  your  patrol  this  morning,  bound  for  Germany  ?" 

"Yes,  she  passed  at  about  eleven  o'clock.     Let  me 


THE   PASSPORT  SJ33 

see" — the  officer  consulted  his  watch — "it  is  nearly 
five  o'clock  now.  Her  papers  were  all  in  order.  She 
was  destined  for  Cleve,  to  meet  American  friends." 

"Thank  you.  Now,  let  me  warn  you.  There  will 
be  two  women  coming  this  way  within  a  few  hours — by 
the  next  train  from  Rotterdam  to  arrive  at  Nymegen, 
following  the  four  o'clock  express,  probably.  I  do  not 
know  their  names  but  the  women  I  have  reference  to  are 
Germans  and,  furthermore,  they  are  spies.  Give  no  in- 
formation regarding  me  whatever  and,  if  there  is  any- 
thing tangible  upon  which  you  might  be  able  to  hold 
them,  I  would  advise  you  to  detain  them  until  you  can 
communicate  with  your  Foreign  Office  at  The  Hague. 
Relations  between  your  country  and  the  Prussians  are 
in  too  delicate  shape  to  take  chances  with  Germans  who 
cannot  give  a  good  account  of  themselves." 

"But  how  will  I  know  the  women  you  desire  me  to  be 
particularly  on  the  watch  for?" 

"Telephone  to  the  Nymegen  station  master.  He  will 
give  you  a  description  of  the  women  if  you  tell  him 
they  were  the  companions  of  Miss  Berwin  yesterday." 

The  Dutch  officer  looked  puzzled. 

"Then  Miss  Berwin  is "  he  began. 

"Miss  Berwin  was,  without  knowing  it,  in  the  hands 
of  two  female  German  spies,"  put  in  Warden. 

"Very  well,  sir,  and  thanks  to  you,"  replied  the  offi- 
cer, saluting.  "I  shall  attend  to  this  at  once"  .  .  . 
Then,  to  a  sentry,  "Passeer  mynheer!"  And  the  car 
shot  ahead  to  the  Prussian  line. 

A  one-mile  stretch  of  country  had  remained  a  "neu- 
tral zone"  by  common  consent;  a  half-mile  of  Dutch 
and  a  half-mile  of  Prussian  territory.  Passing  through 
this  mile  stretch,  Warden  was  relieved,  for  the  first 
time  since  landing  on  European  soil,  to  find  a  complete 


234  THE    PASSPORT 

absence  of  anything  that  might  even  suggest  military 
activity.  This  temporary  "neutral"  ground  had  been 
wisely  established  by  the  commanders  of  the  border 
patrols  of  both  countries  so  as  to  prevent  a  clash  be- 
tween the  opposing  forces  of  frontier  guards,  the  result 
being  a  strip  of  European  territory  so  absolutely 
separated  from  military  operations  that,  unless  they 
heard  of  it  from  passing  civilians,  its  inhabitants  might 
well  be  believed  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  such  a 
thing  as  a  war  was  actually  being  fought  on  the 
Continent. 

Farmers — Dutch  and  Prussian — were  tilling  the  soil. 
Flowers  bloomed  in  untrampled  beds  while  immaculate 
farm  houses  and  farms  appeared  peaceful,  without  the 
least  shade  of  excitement  attending  the  work  of  those 
who  moved  unconcernedly  and  bucolically  about. 

It  was  like  taking  one  step  from  the  center  of  the 
world's  busiest  metropolis  into  the  solitude  of  a  virgin 
forest.  One  instinctively  drew  a  long  breath,  so  as  to 
absorb  as  much  of  this  peace-laden  air  as  possible. 
Warden,  with  a  vague  conception  that  he  would  need 
all  the  strength  this  quiet,  soothing  atmosphere  im- 
parted to  his  tensioned  nerves,  inhaled  deeply. 

And  then  he  had  to  brace  himself  for  the  first  play 
in  the  game  that  he  had  set  out  to  win. 

Fifty  yards  ahead  were  the  German  sentries.  In 
another  thirty  seconds  he  would  be  virtually  a  pris- 
oner in  the  hands  of  those  who,  unless  his  Yankee  nerve 
stood  by  him,  would  extend  him  no  quarter.  In  those 
brief  thirty  seconds  the  enormity  of  the  risk  he  was 
running  suddenly  dawned  upon  him.  In  the  unques- 
tionably desperate  position  he  was  in,  his  whole  life 
passed  with  incredible  rapidity  before  him,  as  it  is 
said  to  pasg  before  a  drowning  person  during  the  few 


THE    PASSPORT  285 

seconds  intervening  between  Life  and  Death.  He  re- 
alized the  monstrous  inequality  in  the  situation.  It 
was  one  where  tact  and  wits  would  be  matched  against 
potent  rage  and  ungovernable  hatred.  It  was  for  him 
to  remain  outwardly  calm  and  without  outward  evi- 
dence of  fear — no  matter  how  great  the  storm  within 
him  or  how  grave  his  apprehension. 

He  hurriedly  tore  up  the  receipt  from  the  British' 
Consul-General — a  bit  of  needless  crimination  he  had 
almost  overlooked — and  threw  the  pieces  over  the  back 
of  the  tonneau,  just  as  the  motor  slowed  up. 

"Wo  gehen  Sie  hin?" 

A  German  officer,  bowing  stiffly  as  he  saluted,  ap- 
proached the  car.  Warden  saluted  in  return.  At  the 
same  time  he  made  it  plain,  in  pantomime,  that  he 
would  alight  and  was  desirous  of  conversing  with  the 
officer  privately. 

"I  am  on  an  urgent  mission  to  Cleve,"  he  said  in 
German,  after  the  officer  had  accompanied  him  a  few 
yards  away  from  the  car.  "I  wish  to  be  escorted  im- 
mediately to  your  commanding  officer  there.  I  come 
direct  from  Von  Wenkel,  commanding  the  U-40.  My 
business  with  the  Chief  of  Staff  at  Cleve  is  most  im- 
perative." 

"But  your  papers?"  expostulated  the  German. 

"Such  as  we" — Warden  planted  the  index  finger  of 
his  right  hand  in  the  middle  of  his  chest — "have  no  pa- 
pers. You  can  have  me  escorted  to  Cleve  under  guard. 
That  lets  you  out  of  it,  my  friend.  Only,  do  not  let 
my  Holland  driver  know  of  my  real  status.  It  would 
make  future  work  more  difficult  .  .  .  over  there!" 
He  pointed  in  the  direction  of  the  mile  of  Elysium. 

"I  understand,"  muttered  the  officer.  He  hailed  an 
orderly  to  whom  he  spoke  in  a  low  voice.  The  orderly 


236  THE   PASSPORT 

disappeared  into  a  nearby  dwelling,  evidently  com- 
mandeered as  a  frontier  post  headquarters,  and  a  mo- 
ment later  a  burly  German  sergeant  came  forward, 
saluted,  received  whispered  orders  and  motioned  War- 
den back  into  the  automobile,  stepping  into  the  ton- 
neau  himself,  after  his  charge. 

There  was  more  flying  of  arms  as  the  officer,  the  ser- 
geant and  Warden  exchanged  salutes  and  the  final 
half  of  the  journey  to  Cleve  was  begun.  It  was  a  very 
quiet  ride.  Warden  and  the  sergeant  did  not  converse, 
principally  because  Warden  did  not  fancy  the  bestial 
expression  of  his  keeper  but  also  because  he  needed  all 
his  thoughts  for  the  second  play  in  the  game — at  Cleve. 


CHAPTER    XVH 

WITHIN  sight  of  the  Town  Hall — converted  into  an 
army  headquarters — they  passed  Cleve's  principal  ho- 
tel. For  the  first  time  since  leaving  the  frontier  patrol 
he  spoke  to  the  sergeant  at  his  side,  at  the  same  time 
making  a  move  as  if  to  stop  his  chauffeur. 

"I  should  like  to  make  inquiries  at  the  hotel,"  he 
said. 

"After  we  have  reported  to  Colonel  von  Tiipper," 
came  the  gruff  rejoinder.  "Not  now." 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  situation.  He  knew  that 
he  was  no  longer  a  free  agent.  The  feeling  was  irksome 
and  he  chafed  under  it,  but  he  did  not  allow  his  com- 
panion to  notice  his  discomfiture.  From  now  on,  his 
every  movement,  he  knew,  would  be  under  restraint,  if 
not  worse — until  he  could  get  clear  of  this  land,  Mary 
with  him  and  his  mission  accomplished. 

As  the  car  stopped  in  front  of  the  building  a  number 
of  German  officers  eyed  him  with  curiosity.  The  ser- 
geant alighted,  saluting  those  of  his  superiors  whom 
he  encountered  in  the  few  steps  between  the  curb  and 
the  door  of  the  headquarters.  There  was  a  whispered 
word  to  another  sergeant.  Two  privates  stepped  for- 
ward— rifles  shouldered — one  in  front,  the  other  be- 
hind the  automobile. 

While  the  proceeding  might  have  been  misunderstood 
by  the  lay  residents  of  Cleve,  it  was  not  so  with  the 
military  loungers.  Here  was  a  stranger,  held  under 
guard.  Conversation  stopped  between  the  army  men 


238  THE    PASSPORT 

and  they  waited  the  outcome  of  the  border  patrol  ser- 
geant's report  to  the  Colonel  in  command  at  head- 
quarters. 

After  a  brief  wait  Warden  was  summoned  from  the 
car.  He  carried  his  own  valise  from  the  tonneau  as  an 
orderly  curtly  dismissed  the  driver.  He  entered  the 
gloomy,  old-fashioned  building  that  served  as  the  offi- 
cial residence  and  bureau  for  the  German  staff  on  the 
lower  Dutch  frontier. 

In  the  room  into  which  he  was  ushered  he  found, 
walking  up  and  down,  puffing  at  a  cigarette,  a  little, 
undersized  man,  with  a  pronounced  Roman  nose,  and 
with  small,  wicked  eyes,  that  gleamed  malignantly  and 
sneeringly  at  the  visitor.  The  little  man  was  tailored 
faultlessly,  his  uniform  fitting  him  as  snug  as  corsets 
on  a  tightly-laced  woman — and  there  was  no  doubt  in 
Warden's  mind  but  that  corsets  formed  one  of  the 
little  man's  principal  habilaments. 

"This  is  the  man,  Colonel,"  announced  the  sergeant, 
saluting. 

"Well,  what  is  this  remarkable  tale  that  you  have  to 
tell?"  sneered  the  stunted  militarist.  "I  am  told  you 
have  no  papers.  Do  you  think  you  are  going  to  get 
by  with  such  a  yarn?  Out  with  it,  quick.  Or  it  will 
be  short  shift  for  you  with  the  next  target  practice 
party!" 

Colonel  von  Tiipper  spoke  in  English,  in  a  high- 
pitched,  irritating  voice.  He  did  not  know,  evidently, 
that  Warden  spoke  German  fluently,  and  he  did  not 
inquire. 

"First  of  all,  Colonel,"  replied  Warden,  calmly,  ig- 
noring the  outburst,  "I  should  like  to  know  whether  a 
Miss  Mary  Berwin  has  arrived  at  Cleve." 


THE    PASSPORT  289 

"You  mean  Fraiilein  Buhrwein  ?  Supposing  she  did  ? 
LWhat  is  that  to  you?" 

"Miss  Berwin  is  the  daughter  of  an  American  citi- 
zen and  I  am  an  American  also.  I  should  like  to  com- 
municate with  the  American  Consul  and  demand  pro- 
tection for  us  both." 

"If  you  are  an  American  citizen,  why  did  you  enter 
the  country  under  a  subterfuge?  Why  have  you  no 
papers?  Why  did  you  mention  the  U -40?  What  have 
you  got  to  do  with  the  U-40,  or  with  a  U-anything- 
else,  for  that  matter?"  The  little  Colonel's  voluntary 
English  was  evidently  to  impress  his  aide  and  another 
officer  who  were  present  in  the  room.  He  was,  palpa- 
bly, boastful  of  his  linguistic  power.  He  took  a  rapid 
step  forward  and  planted  himself  squarely  in  front  of 
his  visitor,  like  a  bantam  rooster  before  a  Plymouth 
Rock.  Puffing  energetically  at  his  cigarette,  which 
was  stuck  in  a  flashy  and  over-decorated  holder,  the 
little  fellow  had  a  habit  of  puckering  his  lips  as  he 
spoke  and  continually  ejecting  either  small  particles 
of  tobacco  leaf  or  saliva.  The  habit  was  most  un- 
pleasant and  Warden  had  to  twist  his  head  about  to 
keep  from  facing  the  insufferable  little  man. 

"I  have  my  own  reasons  for  entering  your  country 
as  I  did,"  he  replied.  "As  for  my  papers,  they  were 
lost.  I  mentioned  the  U-40  because  it  is  not  four  days 
since  I  left  Von  Wenkel,  her  commander,  who  tried  to 
sink  the  Autania,  in  which  attempt  he  failed.  I  had 
not  intended  coming  to  Germany — this  way.  It  was 
my  intention  to  get  to  Germany  .  .  .  the  other  way 
.  .  .  through  Belgium.  When  your  two  women  spies 
got  Miss  Berwin  out  of  London  on  a  forged  letter  and 
made  her,  innocently,  the  carrier  of  a  packet  of  Ameri- 


240  THE  PASSPORT; 

can  plans  and  other  secret  information,  which  Von 
.Wenkel  was  to  have  received  and  taken  to  Wilhelms- 
haven  in  the  U-40,  I  decided  to  follow  her.  Fortu- 
nately, Miss  Berwin  lost  the  packet  ...  on  the  boat 
coming  from  Harwich." 

"How  do  you  know  that!"  The  little  German's  at- 
titude changed  to  one  of  intense  eagerness. 

"Because  I  found  the  packet !" 

Von  Tiipper's  eyes  instinctively  swept  Warden's  fig- 
ure, as  if  he  would  look  through  the  clothes  and  into 
the  pockets,  like  an  X-ray.  Then  his  gaze  fell  on  the 
satchel  and,  from  there,  to  the  door,  as  if  he  were  on 
the  point  of  calling  to  an  orderly  to  have  his  visitor 
searched.  Warden  divined  his  thoughts. 

"No  use  having  me  searched,  Colonel,"  he  said,  pleas- 
antly. "At  least  not  for  the  packet.  That  is  not 
about  me.  By  this  time  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Amer- 
ican Minister  in  The  Hague  and  your  two  women  spies 
are  being  held  somewhere  between  Rotterdam  and  the 
frontier." 

The  effect  of  this  announcement  on  the  little  officer 
was  remarkable.  It  made  him  start,  lose  his  temper 
and,  because  of  what  he  said  to  his  aide,  show  that  he 
was  not  aware  that  Warden  knew  the  German  language. 

"The  American  Consul  here  will  never  know  that  you 
got  to  Cleve!"  he  almost  shrieked  in  his  rage.  "I'll 
have  you  lined  up  with  the  rest  in  the  morning  and 
your  Yankee  carcass  will  be  dissolved  in  lye  for  fear  it 
might  contaminate  good  Prussian  soil."  Then  in 
German  to  his  aide,  he  gave  instruction  that  his  sister 
and  her  companion  be  located  and  showed,  in  other 
ways,  his  unmistakable  anxiety  over  the  safety  of  the 
two  women  spies. 

Warden  saw  his  chance  and  took  it. 


THE    PASSPORT  241 

"Pardon  me,  Colonel,"  he  said,  suavely  and  in  Eng- 
lish, as  von  Tiipper  turned  to  him  again,  "both  your 
sister  and  her  companion  are  being  held  as  a  sort  of 
hostage  for  the  safety  of  Miss  Berwin.  I  could  have 
included  myself,  except  that  it  would  not  seem  Ameri- 
can 'Kultur'  for  a  woman  to  be  held  as  hostage  for  a 
man.  We  prefer  to  allow  you  Germans  to  reserve  such 
delicate  tactics  for  yourselves.  Besides,  I  am  quite 
able  to  take  care  of  myself." 

"What  makes  you  think  one  of  those  women  is  my 
sister,  if  there  really  were  two  such  women  at  all?"  de- 
manded von  Tiipper. 

"Oh,"  smiled  back  Warden,  "while  we  must  admit 
that  you  Germans  are  very  expert  in  your  spy  system, 
you  will  have  to  admit,  before  long,  that  we  Americans 
are  not  asleep.  So  I  took  good  care  to  have  your  sister 
apprehended  as  a  person  too  dangerous  to  be  at  large." 

"I'll  see  about  you!"  shouted  the  officer.  "Captain 
Aller !" — turning  to  his  aide-de-camp — "take  this  man 
away  and  see  that  he  is  well  guarded.  Make  sure  about 
weapons.  Out  with  him !" 

Captain  Aller  advanced  toward  Warden. 

"One  moment,  please,"  said  the  latter.  To  von  Tiip- 
per he  said :  "I  suppose  that  you  have  no  objection  to 
my  taking  my  satchel  with  me?  It  contains  my  clothes 
and  you,  I  know,  can  appreciate  a  gentleman's  desire 
for  fresh  linen." 

Like  all  men  of  his  kind,  the  little  blusterer  was  vain 
to  a  degree  and  this  appeal  to  his  immaculate  appear- 
ance pleased  him.  Involuntarily,  and  for  a  moment, 
he  strutted.  "See  that  there  are  no  weapons  in  the 
bag!"  he  ordered,  sullenly,  to  Aller.  Then  he  turned 
his  back  abruptly  upon  Warden — which,  also,  is  a 
habit  with  those  of  no  personal  importance  in  the  world 


242  THE    PASSPORT 

but  who  have  been  vested  with  certain  temporary  au- 
thority. There  is  a  subtle  line  between  importance 
born  of  authority  and  authority  born  of  importance 
and  the  latter  classification  was  assuredly  not  von  Tiip- 
per's  inheritance.  He  was  one  of  those  miserable  little 
human  jackals  who  cling  to  the  social  body  as  a  fester- 
ing finger  clings  to  an  otherwise  healthy  and  normal 
man. 

Warden  followed  the  aide-de-camp  to  a  building  in 
the  rear  of  the  headquarters,  where  he  was  placed  in  an 
upper  room.  It  was  a  dismal  abode  but  he  welcomed 
the  opportunity  given  him  to  be  by  himself,  for  he  could 
now  devote  some  hours  to  laying  his  plans  for  his  future 
guidance. 

On  the  way,  Captain  Aller,  in  speaking  to  a  brother 
officer,  dropped  a  few  words  that  showed  Warden  that 
von  Tiipper  was,  of  necessity,  tolerated  but  not  held 
in  very  high  esteem  by  those  over  whom  he  had  been 
put  in  authority. 

As  Warden  was  shown  into  the  room  that  was  to 
serve  as  his  prison  for  the  night  he  turned  to  the  young 
officer  and  spoke  in  German,  much  to  the  latter's  'sur- 
prise." 

"I  am  not  a  spy,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Captain." 

"You  speak  good  German,  I  see.  What  are  you 
here  for?" 

"Looking  after  the  safety  of  an  American  girl. 
Could  you  find  out  for  me  whether  a  Miss  Berwin  .  .  . 
they  know  her  here  as  Buhrwein  ...  is  stopping  at 
the  hotel  in  Cleve?  And  if  you  could,  would  you  let 
her  know  that  Mr.  Warden  is  ...  here?" 

The  aide  looked  puzzled.     He  did  not  answer. 

"Also,"  continued  Warden,  "will  you  tell  me  who  is 


THE    PASSPORT  243 

the  chief  of  your  staff,  above  this  impossible  little  cad 
whom  I  have  just  had  my  interview  with?" 

Still  there  was  no  reply  from  the  young  officer. 
Warden  braced  his  shoulders,  with  a  pleasant  smile  on 
his  face. 

"Now,  since  you  have  answered  all  my  questions  so 
nicely,  Captain,  would  you,  perhaps,  do  t his  .  .  .  send 
word,  unknown  to  your  Colonel  here,  to  your  secret  in- 
formation bureau,  wherever  that  may  be,  to  the  effect 
that  Mr.  Richard  Warden,  of  New  York,  chemist,  is 
being  held  a  prisoner  by  Colonel  von  Tiipper?  That  it 
would  be  to  the  distinct  advantage  of  the  Secret  Bu- 
reau to  have  Mr.  Warden  transferred  to  General  Staff 
headquarters  without  delay?" 

Captain  Aller  showed  signs  of  awakening  interest. 
"For  what  purpose,  if  you  please?"  he  finally  asked. 
"Because" — Warden  spoke  slowly — "I  believe  Colo- 
nel von  Tiipper  intends  to  have  me  shot  in  the  morning. 
If  he  does  so,  it  will  be  a  calamity  for  Germany.  I  am 
speaking  rationally,  I  assure  you,  even  though  you  may 
think  I  am  romancing.  Besides  the  unpleasantness  for 
myself  and  my  people,  who  naturally  hope  to  see  me 
again,  my  sudden  taking  off  would  mean  virtual  de- 
struction for  your  .  .  .  glorious  .  .  .  empire.  Within 
a  month  of  my  death  your  country  would  be  overrun 
from  both  the  east  and  the  west,  your  guns  made  use- 
less, your  armies  taken  prisoner  to  a  man  and  the  most 
impossible  penalties  and  indemnities  imposed  upon  your 
people.  I  am  telling  you,  very  earnestly,  that  I  alone 
can  prevent  this.  It  will  happen  if  I  am  kept  more  than 
one  week  from  communication  with  my  friends.  I  cannot 
tell  you  how  I  can  prevent  all  this  from  happening.  I 
have  declined  to  tell  that  to  persons  much  higher  in 


244  THE    PASSPORT 

authority  than  you  .  .  .  even  my  own  President !  You 
are  not  doing  anything  against  your  country  in  send- 
ing this  information  to  your  Geheimdienst.  You  will 
find  that  they  will  be  anxious  to  see  me.  You  will  be 
doing  your  country  an  inestimable  service — a  service 
that  will  be  remembered  gratefully — later.  One  can 
not  talk  rationally  to  that  little  blow-pipe  in  whose 
hanjds  I  now  am.  You  seem  like  a  real — a  sympathetic 
man  and,  I  take  it,  you  might  possibly  join  me  in  the 
satisfaction  there  would  be  in  having  Colonel  von  Tiip- 
per's  self-importance  taken  down  a  bit,  through  action 
by  your  General  Staff.  There  is  no  time  to  be  lost," 
he  added,  as  Aller  seemed  to  hesitate,  "for  word  must 
come  from  your  General  Staff  before  daylight.  Do 
you  not  think  you  had  better  take  the  chance?  You 
might  even  forward  the  information  anonymously  and 
let  it  be  known  later  that  you  took  it  upon  yourself 
to  send  it." 

Captain  Aller  seemed  not  quite  agreed  with  himself 
as  to  what  course  to  pursue. 

"I  do  not  know.  I  will  see  about  it,"  he  said,  as  he 
left  the  room,  closing  and  locking  the  door  as  he 
reached  the  hall. 

A  moment  later  the  regular  tred  of  the  sentry  in 
front  of  the  door  told  Warden  that  he  was,  indeed,  a 
prisoner. 

There  was  little  to  survey  in  the  room,  the  lighting 
for  which  was  supplied  from  an  electric  fixture  in  the 
hall,  which  showed  uncertainly  through  a  transom  over 
the  door.  He  found  a  small  collapsible  cot  in  the  room, 
as  well  as  a  chair.  In  a  corner  was  a  metal  wash-basin, 
filled  with  water,  but  there  was  no  mirror  or  other  fur- 
nishing in  evidence. 


THE    PASSPORT  245 

The  one  window  was  barred  and  in  the  dim  light  that 
fell  on  the  sill  he  could  see  that  the  bars  had  not  been 
long  in  place,  probably  no  longer  than  the  time  thai 
the  building  had  been  taken  over  as  an  army  headquar- 
ters, at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Under  the  window 
he  saw  another  sentry  pacing,  some  twenty-five  feet 
removed  from  the  building. 

His  watch  showed  it  was  just  past  eight  o'clock  and 
he  sat  on  the  edge  of  the  cot,  pondering  over  the  rapidly 
moving  events  of  the  last  few  days.  There  was  no 
thought  in  his  mind,  even  for  a  moment,  that  he  would 
not  come  through  this  first  check  without  trouble. 

He  had  infinite  Faith,  with  self-confidence  only  suffi- 
cient to  guide  him  in  what  he  knew  to  be  Right.  Where 
another  would  have  spent  the  night  in  planning  and 
worrying  over  what  the  morrow  might  bring,  he  pre- 
pared for  a  night's  rest,  absolutely  assured  that  the 
miserable  little  man  in  the  other  building  could  not  best 
him  and  that  the  morrow  would  see  him  on  the  road  to 
General  Headquarters,  ready  for  the  third  play  in  the 
game. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  was  awakened 
by  the  unlocking  of  his  door.  As  he  roused  himself, 
leaning  on  his  arm,  on  the  cot,  he  saw  Captain  Aller 
standing  in  the  doorway. 

"Is  there  anything  you  desire?"  asked  the  officer,  as 
he  moved  slowly  towards  the  corner  where  Warden  had 
been  asleep. 

At  first  he  latter  did  not  understand  the  reason  for 
this  midnight  anxiety  over  his  welfare. 

"Not  that  I  can  see,"  he  replied.  "But  why  this  in- 
quiry at  this  time  of  night?  It  isn't  daylight  yet,  is 
it?  Or — is  it  .  .  .time!"  Through  his  half-conscious- 


246  THE    PASSPORT 

ness,  it  had  suddenly  dawned  upon  him  that  this  might 
be  the  summons,  that  AUer's  query  was  intended  to 
afford  him  the  opportunity  to  express  a  last  wish. 

The  Captain  motioned  him  with  his  hand,  reassur- 
ingly. 

"Just  thought  I  would  ask  you  if  you  wanted  any- 
thing," he  repeated,  in  an  ordinary  tone.  Then,  low- 
ering his  voice,  so  that  it  could  not  be  heard  by  the 
sentry  outside,  "I  have  a  message  from  Miss  Berwin 
for  you.  She  will  apply  to  see  you  at  daylight.  She 
has  told  me  something  about  you.  I  have  also  sent  a 
message  to  the  General  Staff.  That  is  why  I  came  in." 
Then  he  turned  and,  resuming  his  military  attitude, 
stalked  out  of  the  room  again,  locking  the  door. 

The  twittering  of  birds  outside  his  window  awakened 
Warden  just  as  day  broke.  He  bathed  his  face  and 
hands  and  otherwise  spruced  up  as  best  he  could  with- 
out the  aid  of  a  looking-glass.  A  soldier  brought  him 
a  little  pan  full  of  gruel  and  some  black  coffee,  without 
either  milk  or  sugar.  It  was  not  exactly  a  palatable 
breakfast,  but  it  was  breakfast  and  he  was  hungry. 
jWhen  he  had  finished  the  modest  repast  he  was  once 
more  summoned  before  the  Colonel  and  a  few  minutes 
later  was  again  facing  the  little  man,  who  seemed  to 
be  groomed  with  more  care  than  ever. 

"We  do  not  sleep  as  late  as  you  do  in  America,"  said 
von  Tiipper,  with  a  horrible  little  grin.  "We  begin 
our  work  early  here  in  Prussia,  so  that  we  may  be  fin- 
ished the  sooner." 

There  was  an  ugly  emphasis  on  the  "work,"  whicli 
was  not  lost  upon  Warden.  He  stood  quietly  waiting 
what  this  monstrosity  in  military  garb  might  have  to 
say  to  him. 

"Before  we  attend  to  you,"  went  on  von  Tiipper, 


THE    PASSPORT  247 

''there  is  some  small  detail  to  be  gone  through  with.  I 
have  found  out  that  the  packet,  that  was  lost  on  the 
boat,  has  been  placed  in  the  care  of  the  American  Con- 
sul at  Rotterdam,  to  be  called  for  only  by  you."  He 
grinned  as  he  spoke.  "You  see,  I  lost  no  time  in  get- 
ting the  information  I  wanted.  Now,  if  you  can  get 
the  Consul  at  Rotterdam  to  release  that  packet  to  one 
of  my  men,  I  will  let  you  go  your  way.  But  the  packet 
must  be  in  my  possession  before  you  go  away  from 
here." 

"And  how  do  you  expect  me  to  get  the  packet  if  I 
do  not  go  for  it  myself?"  quietly  asked  Warden. 

"You  can  write  a  letter  to  the  Consul  and  Miss  Ber- 
win,  for  instance,  could  go  back  to  Rotterdam  for  it." 

"You  know  what  the  packet  is  supposed  to  contain  ?" 

"I  do." 

"And  you  think  that  Miss  Berwin  and  I  would  turn 
traitors  to  our  country,  you  miserable  little  man?" 
There  was  intense  indignation  in  Warden's  voice  but: 
he  tried  to  control  the  desire  he  felt  to  knock  the  little 
Colonel  to  the  floor. 

"It  will  be  better  for  you  .  .  .  and  for  the  girl!" 
yelled  von  Tiipper. 

"So !  Then  it  is  true  that  you  Germans  menace  wo- 
men in  your  military  operations!  Your  Ambassador 
in  my  country  has  been  diligently  trying  to  prove  it 
otherwise,  ever  since  the  reports  of  your  atrocities 
reached  America  by  cable.  It  is  a  fine  country,  indeed, 
and  I  compliment  you  upon  that  far-famed  culture  of 
yours !" 

"That  will  do  you!"  shouted  von  Tupper.  "Do  I 
get  that  packet  or  do  I  not?" 

"If  I  have  anything  to  say  about  it,  you  cb 
replied  Warden  calmly. 


248  THE    PASSPORT 

"Just  as  you  say !"  The  Colonel  consulted  his  watch. 
"You  have  exactly  one  hour  in  which  to  make  up  your 
mind  to  do  what  I  want  you  to  do  or  to  prepare  your- 
self for  the  wall.  You  are  scheduled  for  the  second 
batch  this  morning.  Being  courteous  to  the  fair  sex 
always,  it  is  ladies  first,  with  us.  The  second  batch  is 
for  the  men!"  And  he  grinned  again,  horribly,  as  he 
motioned  to  have  Warden  taken  away. 

Warden  grew  a  trifle  paler,  notwithstanding  himself. 

"You  don't  mean  that  the  first  batch  is  ...  Miss 
Berwin  ..." 

"Oh,  no.  Fraiilein  Buhrwein  has  clone  nothing  to 
warrant  that.  She  has  only  lost  the  packet.  You — 
you  stole  it." 

Back  in  his  prison  room,  he  stood  looking  from  the 
xvindow  to  where  the  sentry  paced  back  and  forth.  The 
freshness  of  the  morning  air,  the  perfume  from  the  blos- 
soms, all  seemed  so  utterly  at  variance  with  the  sordid 
things  that  were  transpiring.  He  began  to  wonder  if, 
after  all,  he  had  been  wrong  in  thinking  that  the  Ger- 
man Bureau  of  Espionage  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
apprised  of  his  work  in  America  with  the  "sedative,"  as 
Chief  Rankin  had  nicknamed  it.  If  the  Bureau  had 
not  been  so  apprised,  if  his  name  was  not  card-indexed 
in  that  wonderfully  complete  library  of  secret  infor- 
mation, he  had  little  to  hope  from  von  Tiipper,  for 
there  was  no  argument  possible  with  that  little  wretch 
— unless  it  could  lead  to  something  to  the  man's  own 
advantage.  Even  then  he  doubted  if  one  with  a  bear- 
ing, a  face,  and,  especially,  eyes  like  that  could  be 
trusted  to  keep  his  word. 

It  was  just  six  o'clock,  and  a  half-hour  had  elapsed 
since  the  daybreak  interview.  He  was  turning  away 
from  the  window  in  order  to  exercise  his  limbs,  for  a 


THE    PASSPORT  249 

walk  around  the  room,  when  a  commotion  at  the  other 
end  of  the  large  courtyard  attracted  his  attention. 

A  file  of  soldiers  was  coming  from  the  building  in 
front  and,  between  the  double  row  of  armed  men,  there 
walked — three  women.  One  was  elderly,  with  her  grey 
hair  dishevelled,  the  strands  laying  in  disorderly  fash- 
ion over  her  shoulders.  Two  soldiers  were  supporting 
her  as  she  swayed  from  side  to  side,  apparently  in  the 
last  stage  of  collapse.  Every  now  and  then  her  face 
and  her  old,  withered  hands  would  be  raised  Heaven- 
ward. The  other  two  were  younger,  one  of  them 
hardly  grown  into  womanhood.  They  were  weeping 
hysterically,  their  slender  bodies  convulsed  with  sobs, 
and  they,  too,  were  steadied  in  their  march  through  the 
courtyard  by  the  matter-of-fact  soldiers.  There  was 
none  to  comfort  them.  The  soldiers  were  not  comfort- 
ing, merely  seeing  to  it  that  their  charges  did  not  fall 
by  the  way  and  steadying  them  only  with  a  prod  or  a 
rough  lift  of  the  arm  when  occasion  seemed  to  de- 
mand it. 

It  needed  no  announcement  to  tell  Warden  what  this 
luckless  little  group  represented.  It  was,  without  a 
doubt,  von  Tiipper's  "first  batch,"  the  embodiment  of 
his  "ladies  first"  pleasantry  of  half  an  hour  before.  It 
was  the  beginning  of  the  German  military  "work"  day, 
begun  early — so  that  the  workers  might  finish  their 
labors  the  sooner.  There  was  no  priest,  no  gentle  word 
for  the  last  moment  before  the  transition  to  the  Life 
beyond.  Undoubtedly,  he  thought,  these  women  had 
erred,  from  a  military  standpoint.  They  had  probably 
spied,  or  given  refuge  to  spies,  or  given  information  to 
the  enemy.  He  could  not  determine  what  nationality 
they  were.  Perhaps  they  were  unfortunate  Belgians, 
believing  in  their  right  to  defend  their  own  and  to 


250  THE    PASSPORT 

offend  the  enemy.  Only,  their  conception  as  to  who 
was  the  enemy  differed  with  that  of  the  Germans. 
Whatever  they  were,  he  pitied  them,  with  all  the  pity 
that  was  in  his  soul.  He  thought  over  the  schemes 
and  plans  he  had  formulated  in  that  room  in  New 
York,  where  he  could  see  the  twinkling  lights  across  the 
river  and  how  this  little  procession  down  there  in  the 
courtyard  underneath  his  window  now  formed  part  of 
that  army  of  viscious  red  ants  that  he  had  come  to 
vanquish. 

The  soldiers  and  their  prisoners  had  come  to  a  halt. 
An  officer  of  the  guard  called  them  to  attention,  at  the 
same  time  detaching  two  of  his  men  to  attend  to  the 
women.  First,  the  hands  of  the  three  unfortunates 
were  strapped  behind  their  backs. 

Swaying  and  moaning,  the  two  younger  women  man- 
aged to  retain  their  foothold  while  their  arms  were 
being  pinioned.  The  older  one  sank  in  a  heap  to  the 
ground. 

Then  all  three  were  blindfolded,  the  two  younger 
women  being  led  to  the  wall  of  the  courtyard  and  placed, 
aide  by  side,  with  their  backs  to  the  bricks. 

The  older  woman  could  not  stay  on  her  feet.  It 
looked  to  Warden  as  if  she  had  swooned.  They  dragged 
her  poor  body  to  the  wall  and  propped  it  up  alongside 
of  the  two  girls,  whose  knees  were  bending  forward 
more  and  more,  under  the  strain  of  their  mental 
torture. 

It  suddenly  dawned  upon  him  that  these  three  women 
were  to  be  executed  under  his  very  eyes.  The  two  sol- 
diers who  had  bound  and  blindfolded  the  women  re- 
sumed their  places  in  the  squad,  which  was  now  ar- 
ranged into  a  single  line,  facing  the  three  against  the 
wall. 


THE    PASSPORT  251 

The  officer  gave  an  order.  Warden  could  not  catch 
the  word,  but  from  the  movement  of  the  men  he  knew 
it  said : 

"Ready !" 

Quick  as  a  flash,  Warden  reached  for  his  satcKel, 
which  was  at  his  side  on  the  floor,  open. 

He  dug  his  hand  into  a  side  flap.  He  was  at  the 
window  again,  his  right  arm  held  back,  like  a  ball- 
pitcher's.  And  then  .... 

"Legt  an!"  came  from  the  officer  of  the  guard,  quite 
(distinctly. 

Twelve  rifles  were  levelled,  awaiting  the  next  word. 

Crash!  A  bit  of  glass  burst  against  the  brick  wall 
over  the  heads  of  the  three  blindfolded  figures  under 
its  shadow. 

Warden  closed  his  window  just  as  the  glass  struck. 
He  saw  the  two  young  women  at  the  wall  sink  down 
beside  the  older  prisoner  and  thirteen  men  in  uniform 
stretched  flat  and  motionless  upon  the  ground. 

He  walked  slowly  from  the  window  to  his  cot,  anil 
there,  on  his  knees,  he  buried  his  face  in  his  hands  and 
silently  poured  out  his  gratitude  to  his  Maker. 

Presently  going  back  to  the  window,  he  saw  von 
Tiipper,  attended  by  several  officers,  towering  head  and 
shoulders  above  their  diminutive  commander,  enter  the 
courtyard.  Von  Tiipper,  probably  attracted  to  the 
court  when  he  failed  to  hear  the  volley  fired,  walked 
rapidly — almost  ran — to  the  spot  where  the  firing 
squad  and  the  women  were  lying  prostrate. 

There  was  amazement  on  his  face,  as  there  was  on 
the  faces  of  the  other  officers ;  on  all  except,  perhaps, 
;that  of  one,  Captain  Aller. 


252  THE    PASSPORT, 

Aller  appeared  serious  and,  involuntarily,  looked  up 
towards  the  window  of  Warden's  prison  room. 

The  desire  to  finish  the  work  that  the  firing  squad 
had  set  out  to  do  and  failed  seemed  not  to  have  entered 
the  head  of  von  Tiipper.  Warden  could  see  the  little 
Colonel  give  orders  to  have  the  prisoners,  as  well  as  the 
unconscious  soldiers,  removed  to  a  nearby  building. 
Then  followed  a  conference  between  the  officers  which, 
from  the  gestures  of  the  men,  showed  that  they  could 
not  understand  what  had  happened.  At  least,  von 
Tiipper  and  his  staff  walked  back  slowly  and  thought- 
fully to  his  headquarters  and  the  courtyard  once  more 
took  on  its  peaceful,  springtime  aspect. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

HEAVY  footsteps  in  the  hall,  followed  by  the  opening 
of  his  door,  brought  him  out  of  the  reverie  into  which 
he  had  fallen. 

A  soldier  announced  that  he  was  to  appear  again 
before  Colonel  von  Tiipper. 

The  little  commander  was  smoking  his  cigarette  and 
strutting  about  his  room  when  Warden  came  before 
him  for  the  third  time,  and  did  not  betray  any  of  the 
excitement  through  which  he  had  gone  a  short  while 
before,  when  he  had  found  his  women-killers  hors  de 
combat. 

"Well?"  he  snarled,  in  his  unpleasant,  high-pitched 
voice,  as  he  stopped  in  his  parading.  "Have  you  made 
up  your  mind?" 

"I  have  not  changed  it,"  calmly  replied  Warden. 

"Your  turn  is  next,  then !"  exclaimed  the  little  man, 
livid  with  sudden  anger  and  throwing  his  cigarette 
out  of  the  window. 

"Next,  you  say  ?"  Warden  spoke  in  deliberate,  meas- 
ured tones.  "I  did  not  notice  anyone  being  seriously 
hurt  at  the  first  turn." 

"I'll  see  to  it  that  nothing  happens  when  yours 
comes,  you  dirty  Yankee!"  retorted  the  other,  now 
quite  beside  himself  with  rage. 

"Do  you  wish  to  know  how  it  happened  .  .  .  just: 
now  .  .  .  Colonel?" 

"What  do  you  know  about  what  happened?"  yelled 
von  Tiipper.  "Keep  your  mouth  shut  or" — he  made  a 


254  THE   PASSPORT, 

move  as  if  to  draw  the  sabre  that  hung  at  his  side — : 
"I'll  slash  it  shut!" 

"It  was  I  who  prevented  the  murder  of  those  three 
women,"  slowly  spoke  Warden,  looking  straight  at  von 
Tiipper. 

"By  God !  you've  said  enough.     I'll  .  .  .  ." 

"And  within  three  weeks  at  the  most  all  your  armies 
will  lie  prostrate  like  that  firing  squad  of  yours,  with 
the  Russians,  the  French,  the  English  and,  may  God 
bless  them,  the  Belgians,  gathering  up  the  bodies  of 
German  thousands,  invading  every  portion  of  your 
murder-cursed  empire  and  forever  putting  your  blood- 
thirsty military  crew  where " 

Von  Tiipper  had  held  on  to  the  table  in  the  center  of 
the  room  for  support,  gazing,  as  one  palsied,  at  the 
straight  and  earnest-faced  American. 

He  swayed  forward  as  Warden  spoke  and  seemed  on 
the  point  of  controlling  his  throat  for  another  tirade 
when  Captain  Aller  entered  the  room  hurriedly,  with  a 
message  for  his  superior. 

"A  telegram  from  the  GeJieimdienst,  Colonel,"  he 
said,  saluting  and  holding  the  paper  in  front  of  von 
Tiipper,  at  the  same  time  glancing  quickly  and  signifi- 
cantly at  Warden. 

The  Colonel  did  not  take  his  gaze  off  the  Ameri- 
can. His  mouth  moved  slowly  as  he  said,  still  with  his 
leering,  brownish  eyes  held  steadily  to  their  original 
focus : 

"What  does  it  say?"  For  the  moment  he  seemed  to 
forget  that  he  was  ordering  his  aid  to  repeat,  aloud,  a 
message  from  the  German  Secret  Information  Bureau, 
in  the  presence  of  a  stranger. 

"Mr.  Warden  is  to  be  sent  immediately  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Field  Staff  at  Endheim,"  said  Captain 


THE   PASSPORT  255 

Aller.     "General  von  der  Hulze  desires  to  see  him  with- 
out delay." 

"Von  der  Hulze!"  repeated  von  Tiipper  slowly,  still 
gazing  as  if  fascinated  at  Warden.  "What  .  .  .  does 
k  .  .  he  .  .  .  want  .  .  .  with  .  .  .  him?"  As  he  ut- 
tered the  last  word  the  spell  he  was  under  seemed  to 
break.  The  "him"  was  said  with  all  the  contempt  that 
the  little  officer  could  put  into  his  fantastic  voice  and 
he  hastily  snatched  the  telegram  from  Captain  Aller's 
hand. 

"Let  me  see  it!"  he  gnashed  between  his  set  teeth. 
"Damn  them!" — he  scanned  the  message  with  an  ex- 
pression on  his  face  that  plainly  spoke  the  rage  that 
was  eating  at  his  heart — "every  courtesy,  indeed!  Go 
ahead!  Take  him!  .  .  .  What  is  the  use  of  com- 
manding a  post,  anyway,  when  every  dummkopf  can 
override  one's  orders !" 

"It's  the  General,  Colonel,"  expostulated  Captain 
Aller,  to  whom  the  belittling  of  a  general  in  command 
was  nothing  short  of  sacrilege. 

"Damn  the  General !  Damn  them  all !"  shrieked  the 
now  thoroughly  blinded  von  Tiipper.  "Take  this 
damned  Yankee  away  before  I  kill  him  with  my  own 
hands,  General  or  no  General !" 

He  threw  the  telegram,  all  crumpled  up,  at  the  feet 
of  the  astonished  Aller,  who  quietly  signalled  to  War- 
den to  follow  him  and  led  the  way  out  of  the  Colonel's 
room. 

Once  in  the  hall,  the  Captain  turned  to  Warden. 

"Miss  Berwin  did  not  exaggerate,"  he  said,  with  awe 
clearly  written  on  his  pleasant,  almost  boyish  face.  "It 
is  truly  wonderful  what  you  did  in  the  courtyard,  and 
I  am  glad  I  sent  the  message  to  the  Geheimdienst ." 
Then,  as  they  walked  through  the  corridors  to  the 


256  JTHE   PASSPORT 

other  building,  where  Warden  had  been  confined  during 
the  night.  "And  Germany  will  be  able  to  use  this  means 
upon  her  enemies?" 

Warden  did  not  seem  to  hear  the  question. 
He  turned  his  head  suddenly  to  the  young  Captain. 
"What  were  those  women  to  die  for?"  he  asked. 
"They  were  Frau  Schultz  and  her  daughters,  Frieda 
and  Minna.    Frau  Schultz's  son,  Hans,  is  in  New  York, 
where  he  works  in  a  restaurant  or  something  of  the 
sort.     It  seems  that  the  mother  and  her  daughters  were 
afraid  Hans  would  try  to  get  back  to  Germany  to  join 
the  colors.     She  has  already  lost  three  sons  and  she 
wrote  Hans  to  remain  in  America  so  that  she  would 
have  one  son  left  for  her  old  age.     It  was  very  pathetic, 
her   letter.     Frieda   and   Minna    also   wrote   to   their 
brother,  urging  him  to  remain  where  he  was.     The  let- 
ters were,  of  course,  opened  by  the  secret  readers  in 
the  Post  Office.     They  read  all  letters  that  go  out,  and 
so  Frau  Schultz  and  her  daughters  were  arrested  on 
the  charge  of  conspiring  to  keep  a  reservist  from  join- 
ing the  colors,  and  von  Tiipper  ordered  them  shot  as 
an  example  to  other  families.     It  seems  a  trifle  harsh 
and  I  am  glad  that  something  interfered.     I  hope  they 
will  go  free  now.     After  all,  it  was  only  the  love  of  a 
mother  for  her  remaining  son  that  prompted  the  letter- 
writing.     And  she  had  already  given  up  three  for  the 
Fatherland." 

"Heaven  watchi  over  that  poor  mother!"  exclaimed 
Warden,  fervently. 

"And  now,  please  tell  me,"  urged  Aller,  "does  Ger- 
many get  that  wonderful  means  to  crush  her  enemies 
from  you?" 

"Not  if  I  can  prevent  it !"  Warden  exclaimed,  warmly. 
"With  such  brutal  murder  going  on  as  you  have  just 


THE    PASSPORT  25T 

Described  to  me,  do  you  think  I  would  put  a  greater 
power  into  the  hands  of  your  country?  At  the  same 
time" — as  he  saw  Captain  Aller's  face  become  white  and 
drawn — "I  can  be  the  means  of  preventing  your  ene- 
mies from  using  it  indiscriminately.  My  dear  fellow" — 
he  laid  his  hand  almost  affectionately  on  the  young 
officer's  shoulder — "men  such  as  von  Tiipper  are  the 
ones  that  make  the  world  go  wrong.  They  make  it  go 
wrong  for  their  immediate  subordinates  as  well  as  for 
those  who  are  thrown  in  contact  with  them — except 
those  from  whom  such  a  cad  as  von  Tiipper  gets  his 
favors.  In  the  latter  case,  your  von  Tiipper  becomes  a 
cavaliere  servente,  licking  the  hand  of  him  he  is  afraid 
'to  abuse,  a  flunky  and  a  parasite.  If  every  German 
were  as  manly  as  you  are,  had  as  much  of  the  milk  of 
human  kindness  in  his  soul  as  you  have,  were  as  open 
to  argument  as  you  are  and  as  ready  to  help  a  fellow- 
man,  well,  then  there  would  not  now  be  a  war !" 

It  did  not  take  him  long  to  get  his  effects  together. 
Then  he  asked  to  be  taken  to  the  hotel  where  Mary 
Berwin  was  stopping.  Captain  Aller  had  arranged 
for  a  military  motorcar  for  the  journey  to  Endheim, 
as  soon  as  he  had  received  the  telegram  and  before  he 
had  shown  it  to  von  Tiipper.  When  it  arrived  he  cour- 
teously offered  to  accompany  .Warden  as  far  as  the 
hotel. 

On  a  balcony  overlooking  the  principal  square  in  the 
town,  charmingly  attired  in  a  white  suit,  a  soft,  broad- 
rimmed  straw  hat  trimmed  with  wild  flowers,  that  added 
their  quota  of  freshness  to  the  blossoms  on  an  over- 
hanging vine,  Mary  held  her  morning  vigil.  She  had 
been  thoughtfully  notified  by  Captain  Aller  that  the 
necessity  for  calling  on  Warden  in  the  headquarters 
prison  had  passed. 


258  THE    PASSPORT 

She  was  overjoyed  when  the  military  automobile 
idrew  up  below  at  the  curb  and,  after  waving  a  greeting 
before  the  car  stopped,  she  was  downstairs,  in  the  typi- 
cally German  reception  parlor  of  the  hostelry,  almost 
at  the  same  time  as  the  man  for  whom  she  had  made  the 
hurried  journey  from  London. 

"Dick !"  There  was  a  world  of  tender  happiness  ex- 
pressed in  that  one  word. 

"My  girl,  my  brave  little  girl!" 

Both  were  anxious  to  recount  their  experiences  since 
they  had  last  seen  each  other  at  the  Savoy,  but  there 
was  hardly  time  for  extended  explanations.  The  purr- 
ing of  the  motor's  engine  reminded  Warden  that  he 
could  not  long  delay  his  trip  to  Endheim,  that  he  was 
a  prisoner  and  was  being  taken  inland  under  orders. 
He  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  leaving  Mary  alone  in 
Cleve,  now  that  he  had  found  her.  Then  a  thought 
struck  him. 

"Captain  Aller!" 

The  young  aide-de-camp  came  from  the  car  and 
joined  them  on  the  hotel  porch.  Mary,  having  met  him 
unofficially  twice  before,  greeted  him  cordially. 

"Miss  Berwin  is  free  to  go  where  she  pleases,  is  she 
not?"  asked  Warden. 

"I  have  heard  no  orders  to  the  contrary,"  Captain 
Aller  replied,  bowing  to  Mary.  "She  would  need  local 
permits  for  travel,  that  is  all." 

"Then  I  should  like  to  have  Miss  Berwin  accompany 
me  to  Endheim,  if  that  were  possible,"  explained 
Warden. 

"Miss  Berwin  would  be  at  liberty  to  travel  to  End- 
heim, in  the  regular  way,  by  train,"  suggested  Aller. 
"I  am  afraid  that  I  could  not  authorize  her  to  go  in 
the  automobile.  That  would  require  an  order  from 


THE    PASSPORT  259 

/i» 

Colonel  von  Tiipper  .and  ...  if  I  were  you  ...  I 
would  not  broach  the  subject  to  the  Colonel.  It  might 
be  better  to  have  Miss  Berwin  remain  quietly  here. 
Cleve  is  far  removed  from  the  hostilities.  It  is  safer 
here." 

"But  I  do  not  want  to  stay  here !"  protested  Mary. 
"That  little  Colonel  of  yours  is  a  very  unpleasant  man. 
He  has  been  positively  annoying." 

"Then  go  back  into  Holland,"  suggested  Wariden. 

"That,"  interrupted  Captain  Aller,  "would  also  ne- 
cessitate a  special  permit  from  the  Colonel.  It  would 
be  leaving  the  country  and  Fraiilein's  passport  would 
have  to  be  countersigned  by  him." 

It  was  finally  decided  that  she  should  remain  at  the 
Hotel  Cleve  until  after  Warden  had  had  his  interview 
with  the  Chief  of  Staff  at  Endheim.  Warden  felt  cer- 
tain that,  after  that  interview,  Mary's  departure  from 
Cleve  would  not  be  interfered  with.  Captain  Aller  also 
gallantly  volunteered  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  the 
young  woman  and  not  lose  track  of  her  while  she  re- 
mained alone  at  Cleve. 

Two  concentration  camps  for  prisoners  and  a  train- 
load  of  wounded  Germans  were  the  three  vivid  remind- 
ers he  had,  en  route,  that  war  was  being  waged.  For 
the  rest,  an  almost  total  absence  of  able-bodied  men 
on  the  farms  and  highways  formed  passive  proof  of  the 
complete  militarization  of  a  hitherto  peaceful  agricul- 
tural community. 

Nearing  the  end  of  his  journey,  he  could  take  no 
further  note  of  the  country,  for  he  was  then  blind- 
folded, and  when  he  was  able  to  use  his  eyes  again  it 
was  to  see  a  large,  powerfully  built  man,  in  full  uni- 
form, sitting  at  a  table  at  one  end  of  a  richly  furnished 
chamber,  in  what  appeared  to  be  either  a  chateau  or  a 


260  THE    PASSPORT 

large  villa.  There  was  every  evidence  of  comfort  and 
luxury  about  and  sleek-looking  German  staff  officers 
sat  in  beautifully  upholstered  chairs,  their  spurred 
boots  resting  on  tiger,  bear  and  boar  skins,  which  cov- 
ered a  smooth,  polished  floor. 

The  big  man  at  the  table  looked  at  a  paper  he  held 
before  him. 

"Mr.  Richard  Warden?"  came  finally  in  a  pleasant 
though  severe  voice. 

"That  is  my  name,  General." 

"You  came  to  Germany  because -" 

"I  desired  to  prevent  a  young  American  woman 
being  decoyed  into  Germany  by  two  of  your  espionage 
corps." 

"What  makes  you  think  they  were  that?" 

"I  have  evidence  of  it." 

"And  you  came  without  papers?" 

"My  papers  were  lost  and  I  did  not  wish  to  lose  any 
time." 

"You  were  born  in  America?" 

"I  was." 

"And  your  father  and  mother?" 

"My  father  and  several  generations  before  him,  in 
America ;  my  mother  in  Holland." 

"What  is  your  profession?" 

"I  have  studied  chemistry  and — : — " 

"A-ah!" 

"And  I  mean  to  follow  that  as  my  profession." 

The  General  turned  to  say  something  to  an  aide. 
Then,  turning  back  to  Warden : 

"You  know,  of  course,  that  you  have  made  your- 
self liable  to  a  severe  penalty?  In  fact,  the  severest 
penalty  ...  in  time  of  war?" 

"JJnder  ordinary  circumstances,  perhaps,  but  not  in 


THE    PASSPORT  261 

this  instance,"  Warden  replied,  amiably.  "You  have 
not  sent  for  me  for  that  reason,  have  you?" 

The  big  man  eyed  him  curiously  for  a  moment. 

"I  have  sent  for  you  because  we  have  certain  informa- 
tion in  connection  with  your  visit  at  this  particular 
time.  We  learned  that  you  intended  going  to  the  Con- 
tinent by  way  of  Calais  and  we  preferred  to  have  you 
come  by  way  of  Holland.  We  knew  you  would  change 
your  plans  and  follow  the  young  lady,  but  our  plans 
were  slightly  disarranged  through  the  unfortunate  and 
stupid  procedure  at  Cleve.  I  must  really  apologize  to 
you  for  your  unpleasant  experience  there.  You  suf- 
fered no  serious  inconvenience?" 

"None,  unless  you  consider  being  sentenced  to  death 
an  inconvenience,"  Warden  replied,  with  a  smile.  "I 
am  afraid  the  inconvenience  was  all  on  the  side  of 
Colonel  von  Tiipper." 

"You  have  made  some  discovery  or  invention,  have 
you  not,  Mr.  Warden?" 

"I  did  make  a  more  or  less  important  discovery." 

"And  it  was  in  connection  with  this  discovery  that 
you  came  to  Europe,  was  it  not?" 

Warden  nodded  his  head.  "Generally  speaking,  yes," 
he  said. 

"It  has  something  to  do  with  overcoming  large  bodies 
of  men,  making  them  incapable  of  resistance,  has  it 
not?"  pursued  the  General. 

"By  the  way,  General,"  Warden  interrupted,  his  face 
suddenly  alert.  "Before  we  go  any  further,  I  would  ask 
a  favor.  The  shooting  of  three  women,  a  mother  and 
her  two  daughters,  was  prevented  this  morning  in  the 
nick  of  time.  I  cannot  believe  it  is  your  way  to  stand 
women  against  a  wall  and  kill  them  like  dogs,  even  if 
it  is  the  way  of  Colonel  von  Tiipper.  Especially  does 


262  THE    PASSPORT 

it  seem  incomprehensible  to  me  since  the  woman  is  one 
of  your  own  people,  who  had  already  given  three  sons 
to  her  country  and  tried  to  save  the  fourth  for  herself. 
Will  you  please  send  a  message  to  Colonel  von  Tiipper, 
staying  the  execution  of  women  until  their  cases  can 
be  reviewed  by  someone  higher  in  authority  than  he? 
I  am  afraid  Colonel  von  Tiipper  is  lacking  in  scruples 
in  the  matter  of  killing  people.  Do  this  first,  please, 
and  then  we  can  continue  our  talk  .  .  .  about  my  dis- 
covery." 

Von  der  Hulze  looked  undecided  for  an  instant,  but 
he  wrote  something  on  an  official  slip,  which  he  handed 
to  one  of  his  officers,  who  saluted  and  immediately  hur- 
ried from  the  room. 

"The  case  shall  be  looked  into,"  he  said  slowly.  "Now 
tell  me  about  your  presence  in  Europe." 

"I  can  tell  you  very  little,"  Warden  began,  "except 
that  it  will  be  to  Germany's  interest  to  detain  me  as 
little  as  possible.  The  present  strained  relations  be- 
tween my  country  and  yours  does  not  create  any  desire 
in  me  to  stay  here !" 

"But  you  are  here!"  The  General  brought  a  huge 
fist  down  on  the  solid  mahogany,  with  a  bang.  "Your 
self-assurance,  Mr.  Warden,  does  not  become  a  man 
in  your  position.  Suppose  we  decide  to  keep  you  here? 
[What  would  you  have  to  say  to  that?" 

"Nothing  whatever,  General." 

"You  would  accomplish  nothing  then,  would  you?" 

"Personally,  no.  But,  unless  I  am  in  communication 
with  my  friends  within  the  next  forty-eight  hours, 
General,  there  will  come  over  your  country  a  greater 
destruction,  even,  than  you  have  caused  to  be  spread 
over  Belgium.  I  am  not  boasting.  God  has  permitted 


THE   PASSPORT  263 

me  to  use  my  brains  for  the  relief  of  my  fellow-men. 
Do  not  think  for  a  moment  that  I  have  not  provided 
for  an  emergency,  either  in  case  of  my  death,  suddenly, 
or  my  detention — here,  for  instance.  You  know,  as  I 
know,  that  there  is  a  difference  between  dealing  with 
the  Russians  and  dealing  with  the  French  and  the  Brit- 
ish. The  latter  two  peoples  would  not  destroy  your 
cities  and  your  countrysides  as  you  have  destroyed 
theirs.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Cossacks  would  not  be 
so  careful  or  so  choice  in  their  behavior.  For  my  part, 
I  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Russians.  I  admire  the 
Russian  nation  for  but  one  thing,  but  that  is  neither 
here  nor  there.  As  long  as  I  control  that  which  I 
alone  have  discovered,  the  Russians  shall  not  be  allowed 
to  avail  themselves  of  it.  If  the  British  and  the  French 
have  the  benefit  of  the  secret  knowledge  I  have,  they 
shall  use  it  with  the  utmost  discrimination,  I  assure 
you.  But  if  anything  happens  to  me  while  I  am  in 
German  hands  the  knowledge  that  I  now  possess  ex- 
clusively will,  automatically  through  my  silence,  be 
given  into  the  hands  of  the  Russians  as  well  as  your 
other  enemies.  I  assure  you,  with  all  the  earnestness  I 
can  possibly  put  into  my  words,  that  your  country,  in 
that  event,  will  be  overrun  by  the  Slavs,  even  though 
the  French  and  British  should  go  no  further  than  the 
Rhine.  You  had  better  get  me  out  of  your  hands  as 
quickly  as  you  can,  General.  I  am  worth  much  more  to 
you  out  of  Germany  than  in  Germany." 

Von  der  Hulze  had  remained  immovable  during  War- 
den's vivid  portrayal  of  Germany's  possible  devasta- 
tion. He  appeared  not  quite  able  to  make  out  the 
young  American's  status. 

Some  moments  elapsed  after  Warden  had  finished  be- 


264  THE    PASSPORT 

fore  the  General  spoke.  He  sat  there,  (drumming  his 
fingers  and  compressing  his  lips,  as  if  he  were  arguing 
with  himself  over  a  knotty  problem. 

Finally,  clearing  his  throat,  he  said: 

"I  shall  talk  with  you  again  later."  Then  he  con- 
versed in  a  low  tone  with  another  officer  who,  after  sa- 
luting, approached  Warden  and  requested  him  to  follow. 

The  room  to  which  Warden  was  shown,  on  the  floor 
above,  was  arranged  as  luxuriously  as  the  one  he  had 
just  left.  There  was  every  requisite  of  comfort  that 
wealth  could  put  within  four  walls.  In  a  mammoth 
bookcase  he  found  a  collection  of  volumes,  in  rich  bind- 
ings mostly  and  of  a  wide  literary  scale.  He  selected 
a  volume  of  Heinrich  Heine's  poems  and  laid  down  on 
an  exquisite  lounge,  in  an  effort  to  compose  his  thoughts. 

When  dusk  set  in  and  he  could  read  no  longer,  with- 
out artificial  light,  he  became  aware  that  the  air  had 
grown  chilly.  As  the  open  fire-place  contained  logs 
and  small  wood  underneath,  ready  for  lighting,  he 
struck  a  match  and  soon  the  room  was  flooded  with 
fantastic  shadows  as  the  logs  slowly  blazed  up.  He 
drew  a  huge,  old-fashioned  chair  to  the  fire  and  threw 
himself  into  it.  In  the  glow  of  the  logs  he  studied  the 
situation.  He  thanked  God  again  that  he  had  been 
permitted  to  save  the  lives  of  that  mother  and  her  two 
daughters,  in  Cleve  that  same  morning.  He  knew  that 
his  own  mother  was  looking  down  upon  him  from 
Heaven,  from  that  Home  of  Everlasting  Life  where 
tired  mothers,  weary  no  longer,  look  down  upon  that 
which  they  have  builded,  guiding,  as  stars,  those  whom 
they  have  left  behind. 

Then,  reverting  to  those  matters  that  were  imme- 
diately vital  to  the  safety  of  so  many  countless  thous- 
ands, he  went  over  in  his  mind  his  interview  with  the 


THE    PASSPORT  265 

Chief  of  Staff.  Von  der  Hulze,  he  firmly  believed,  was 
open  to  argument.  Thanks  to  the  effectiveness  of  the 
German  Information  Bureau  in  New  York,  enough  had 
trickled  through  to  the  General  Staff  to  afford  him  an 
effective  weapon  of  defense  in  the  absence  of  any  direct 
knowledge  the  General  Staff  had  of  what  he  really  was 
about.  His  next  move  would  be  to  have  Von  der  Hulze 
give  Mary  a  safe  conduct  over  the  Dutch  border  and 
then,  if  he  could  get  out  of  Germany  and  into  France, 
the  rest  would  be  easy.  Von  der  Hulze  had  doubtless 
been  advised  of  what  had  occurred  in  the  court-yard 
at  Cleve,  which  would  strengthen  his  position  with  the 
General. 

So  far,  he  had  held  his  own  and  he  was  confident  tha€ 
he  would  hold  his  own  to  the  end. 

A  servant  brought  up  a  tray,  upon  which  there  was 
an  excellent  dinner,  complete  even  to  the  bottle  of  fine 
old  Rudesheimer,  a  liqueur  and  cigars.  He  drank  a  glass 
of  the  wine,  which  proved  a  refreshing  stimulant  and 
after  doing  ample  justice  to  the  contents  of  the  official 
dinner  tray,  he  lit  a  cigar  and  resumed  his  study  of  the 
blazing  logs. 

For  two  hours  he  sat  this  way,  enjoying  a  quiet 
broken  only  by  the  occasional  sound  on  the  hardwood 
floor  in  the  room  below  as  an  officer,  moving  about, 
stepped  between  the  rugs.  Subdued  voices  reached 
him  from  time  to  time.  The  cheerful  fire  in  the  hearth 
held  him  fascinated.  One  tongue  of  blue  flame  seemed 
more  persistent  than  all  the  others  that  sputtered  from 
little  crevices  in  the  now  half-charred  logs.  The 
smaller  ones  played  hide  and  seek  with  the  big  flame. 
Presently,  they  assumed  different  shapes  and  human 
forms,  in  brilliant  accoutrements,  climbed  over  the  hill 
formed  by  the  pile  of  logs.  The  fireplace  became  a 


266  THE    PASSPORT 

wide  plain  and  the  brilliant  shapes  became  more  nu- 
merous. .  .  .  He  heard  the  crackling  of  many  shots 
.  .  .It  seemed  like  an  avalanche  of  human  shapes  now 
...  slashing,  crunching  their  way  over  the  glowing 
field.  He  was  at  the  other  end  of  the  space  .  .  . 
awaiting  the  onslaught.  Then  he  saw  something 
hurled  from  a  great,  towering  gun  .  .  .  As  it  reached 
those  crowding  over  the  lighted  field,  there  came  a  quiet 
...  the  great  light  gradually  faded  .  .  .  He  started 
forward  in  exultation  .  .  .  The  blue  flame  gave  one, 
last,  nervous  leap  upward  and  the  log  showed  only  a 
dull  after-glow,  while  a  faint,  charring  snap  came  from 
the  crevice  into  which  it  had  disappeared. 

A  hand  was  laid  on  his  shoulder. 

He  started  and  looked  up,  to  see  a  middle-aged  Ger- 
man officer  standing  beside  the  chair. 

"You  are  to  accompany  General  von  der  Hulze,  at 
once,"  said  the  German. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

j; 

WHERE  he  was  going  or  for  what  purpose  was  as  a 
closed  book  to  Warden.  All  that  he  knew  was  that  he 
was  being  escorted  through  the  great,  old-fashioned 
halls  to  a  side  entrance  of  the  building  where,  under  a 
magnificent  porte-cochere,  stood  a  big  touring  car,  in 
the  inevitable  battle-grey,  with  engine  going.  There 
were,  also,  several  German  officers,  apparently  of  higher 
rank,  military  capes  thrown  over  their  shoulders,  for 
the  night  had  grown  chilly. 

The  officer  who  had  brought  him  downstairs  offered 
him  a  heavy  bearskin  coat,  which  he  gratefully  ac- 
cepted, for  it  was  plain  that  there  was  to  be  a  night- 
ride  in  the  automobile  and  his  clothes  were  not  con- 
ducive to  comfort  while  motoring.  An  elaborate  porch 
fixture  threw  a  subdued  light  on  the  scene.  It  might 
have  been  the  carriage  entrance  to  the  opera  house  in 
Berlin,  except  for  the  service  uniforms. 

Five  persons  could  be  comfortably  accommodated  in 
the  tonneau  of  the  car,  which  was  unoccupied  when  he 
came  downstairs,  with  the  chauffeur  standing  rigidly 
by  the  side  of  the  cylinder  box.  There  was  a  wait  of 
a  few  moments,  during  which  the  Germans  conversed 
among  themselves,  all  except  the  one  who  had  escorted 
Warden.  He  maintained  a  careful  but  unobtrusive 
watch  over  the  American,  standing  a  few  feet  away 
from  the  rest. 

Then  there  came  a  stir  from  within  the  house.  Pres- 
ently the  doors  were  swung  open.  Out  from  between 


268  THE    PASSPORT 

rows  of  officers  in  the  hall,  Warden  saw  General  von 
Ider  Hulze  march  with  long  strides  toward  the  door  and 
out  upon  the  carriage  step. 

Everybody  came  to  attention  and  saluted  the  Gen- 
eral as  he  stepped  rapidly  to  the  car.  He  swung  him- 
self easily  into  a  rear  seat,  to  be  followed  by  two  offi- 
cers. [Warden  was  assigned  to  one  of  the  pivoted  seats 
in  the  tonneau,  the  officer  who  had  brought  him  from 
his  comfortable  reverie  by  the  log-fire,  taking  the  other 
adjustable  seat.  An  orderly  jumped  into  the  front 
seat  after  the  chauffeur  and  the  big  car  shot  ahead 
and  Hashed  into  the  impenetrable  darkness,  relieved 
only  by  the  immense  lightbeams  from  the  reflectors  in 
front  which,  illuminating  the  roadway,  made  the  gloom 
overhead  all  the  more  intense. 

They  rode  on  this  way  for  several  hours.  Occasion- 
ally the  low  gutturals  of  the  Germans  in  the  seat  be- 
hind him  kept  up  a  grumbling  accompaniment  to  the 
whir  of  the  motor  but  it  was  a  conversation  of  which 
he  could,  at  no  time,  catch  the  drift.  He  tried  to  spec- 
ulate as  to  the  objective  of  this  night  ride.  Neither  a 
process  of  deduction  nor  of  reasoning  brought  him 
any  nearer  to  a  possible  solution  of  the  mystery. 

That  the  General  Commanding  should,  himself,  be  of 
the  party,  was  the  most  mystifying  part  of  it  all. 
Nothing  was  encountered  on  the  way,  so  Warden  de- 
cided to  his  own  satisfaction  that  they  were  not  travel- 
ing along  the  military  highways.  Once  in  a  while  a 
light  blinked  in  a  nearby  house  or  farm  building;  ex- 
cept for  that,  there  was  not  a  sign  or  sound  to  guide 
him  in  his  guess  either  as  to  their  location  or  desti- 
nation. 

The  car  Had  been  running  upgrade  for  a  mile  or  two 
when,  coming  to  the  crest  of  a  hill,  von  der  Hulze  leaned 


THE    PASSPORT  269 

forward  and  whispered  to  the  officer  sitting  next  to 
Warden.  Warden,  feeling  the  touch  of  the  leaning 
figure,  thought  it  was  his  attention  that  was  being  at- 
tracted and  he  turned,  just  as  his  companion  reached 
over  and  began  the  adjustment  of  a  blindfold  over  his 
forehead.  Not,  however,  until  he  had  seen  what  lay 

before  him innumerable  little  red-glows  in  the  valley 

between  the  crest  upon  which  they  were  at  the  time 
and  the  range  of  hills  some  ten  miles  or  more  distant. 
The  glows  were  camp-fires,  of  course,  for  he  saw  tiny 
figures,  like  insects  standing  on  end,  moving  about 
among  the  hundreds  of  dully-lighted  spots. 

He  knew  at  once  what  he  was  looking  down  upon — a 
huge  army,  bivouacked  for  the  night.  It  was  probably 
because  it  would  not  do  for  a  stranger  to  see  the  road 
leading  to  it  as  well  as  the  topography  of  the  surround- 
ing country,  that  he  was  being  blindfolded. 

While  he  lost  all  sense  of  direction,  he  felt  the  auto- 
mobile making  sharp  turns,  upgrade  here,  downgrade 
there,  then  a  level  stretch  and  then  another  sharp  turn. 
The  orderly  was  blowing  a  peculiar  whistle,  evidently 
a  signal,  and  at  no  time  since  coming  over  the  crest  did 
the  chauffeur  lower  his  speed. 

It  seemed  to  Warden  as  if  they  were  fairly  flying 
over  the  smooth  road,  until  the  brakes  were  suddenly 
applied — so  suddenly  that  he  thought  it  was  an  emer- 
gency stop — and  then  he  was  helped  out  of  the  car 
and,  as  he  jumped  down,  the  blindfold  was  loosened  and 
crept  upward  so  that  he  could  see  from  underneath  the 
cloth.  In  the  darkness  none  of  the  others  noticed  this. 

It  was  an  open  space  where  they  had  stopped  and  all 
except  von  der  Hulze  had  alighted. 

The  chauffeur  was  manipulating  a  searchlight  at- 
tached to  the  front  of  the  automobile  and  soon  it  sent 


270  THE    PASSPORT 

a  shaft  of  grey-blue  light  straight  to  the  sky,  in  whichi 
position  it  remained  stationary. 

They  were  apparently  on  the  outskirts  of  the  camp. 
Near  him  he  saw  an  improvised  hostlers'  barracks  and 
cooks,  with  their  white  aprons,  preparing  the  meal  for 
the  next  morning  in  the  camp  kitchens. 

There  was  the  usual  noise  about  these  preparations 
and  every  now  and  then  some  disengaged  kitchen-work- 
ers and  horse-tenders  strolled  over  to  within  a  respectful 
distance  of  the  grey  car  and  looked  curiously  at  it  and 
the  group  of  caped  officers  standing  near.  These  loung- 
ers would  hold  whispered  debates  as  to  the  significance 
of  the  visit  and  speculate  as  to  the  identity  of  the  mid- 
night visitors.  Then  they  would  go  back  to  their  la- 
bors, to  be  replaced  by  other  loungers,  to  whom  the 
grey  car,  with  its  great  shaft  of  light  pointed  Heaven- 
ward, was  as  gratifying  a  basis  for  conjecture  and 
camp  gossip  as  it  had  been  for  their  mates. 

A  whirling  noise,  coming  from  no  particular  direc- 
tion, caused  all  to  strain  their  eyes  through  the  dark- 
ness to  find  its  origin. 

Suddenly  another  shaft  of  light,  piercing  the  gloom 
from  a  height  which  Warden  estimated  to  be  not  over 
one  hundred  feet  from  the  ground,  threw  itself  diagon- 
ally across  the  stationary  vertical  ray  from  the  auto- 
mobile. Three  times  it  crossed  the  motor's  searchlight, 
as  if  bent  upon  cutting  it  in  pieces. 

There  was  instant  commotion  among  the  officers 
standing  about  the  car  and  the  orderly  leaped  forward 
to  hold  the  tonneau's  door  as  General  von  der  Hulze 
hastily  alighted  from  the  machine. 

Within  a  dozen  yards  of  where  they  were  standing, 
a  huge  aeroplane  landed  silently  and  easily  upon  the 
ground.  Attached  to  one  of  the  plane  braces  Warden 


THE    PASSPORT  271 

saw  tHe  Imperial  Standard  of  Germany,  with  its  grim 
Black  Eagle. 

The  aircraft  had  hardly  touched  the  earth  before  a 
short,  fat  man  stepped  from  behind  the  aviator. 

A  bristling  mustache  and  a  brusque  pomposity,  that 
at  once  irritated  and  depressed,  were  his  chief  distin- 
guishing features. 

The  helmets  of  von  der  Hulze  and  the  other  German 
officers  came  off  with  a  quick  sweep  as  the  newcomer 
moved  toward  them,  much  like  a  vulture.  Warden 
noted  that  the  man  had  a  withered  left  arm,  as  if  Na- 
ture, realizing  that  in  him  she  had  a  soul  of  unrest  and 
aggression,  had  crippled  him,  like  a  viscious  bird  lack- 
ing a  vital  portion  of  its  wing. 

The  scene  about  the  automobile  was  instantly  trans- 
formed as  the  air-visitor  came  upon  it.  Not  a  sound 
came  from  the  kitchens  or  the  hostlers'  barracks,  not 
a  figure  could  be  seen  moving  anywhere,  except  the 
group  in  the  center  of  the  open  space.  Everything 
was  instant  quiet  and  order  in  the  camp. 

For  some  moments  he  had  undisturbed  opportunity 
to  observe  the  newcomer. 

A  grey  cape  covered  the  form  to  well  below  the  knees. 
Once,  when  one  of  the  flaps  was  thrown  back,  he  saw 
the  decorations  on  the  breast ;  aside  from  this  there  was 
nothing  military  about  the  man  except  the  cloth-covered 
helmet.  He  looked  like  a  well-fed,  prosperous  business 
man,  one  of  the  thousands  that  can  be  seen  on  the 
streets  of  New  York  every  day  but  whose  physique 
would  never  attract  attention.  To  Warden,  he  bore 
a  striking  resemblance  to  a  delicatessen  dealer  whom 
he  knew,  as  well  as  to  his  favorite  barber  during  his 
college  days.  Von  der  Hulze  seemed,  to  him,  more 
military,  more  commanding  in  appearance. 


272  THE    PASSPORT 

One  might  take  von  der  Hulze  for  an  Emperor  or  a 
Kaiser  but  the  fat  little  man  who  had  just  finished  a 
journey  in  the  aeroplane never. 

His  mental  note-taking  on  these  points  was  inter- 
rupted by  one  of  the  German  officers  who,  bowing  and 
saluting,  had  backed  away  from  the  group  near  the  au- 
tomobile and  was  trying  desperately  to  pilot  his  way 
backwards  to  where  Warden  had  been  left  standing, 
without  turning  his  face  away  from  the  august  pres- 
ence in  the  center  of  the  little  circle  of  officers. 

"His  Imperial  Majesty  has  ordered  that  you  be 
brought  before  him,"  breathed  the  bowing  and  scrap- 
ing official,  as  he  finally  managed  to  maneuvre  beside 
Warden,  without  having  once  diverted  his  face  from 
the  group  he  had  left. 

Warden  looked  hard  at  the  Imperial  messenger. 

So  here,  then,  was  the  solution!  Richard  Warden 
third,  obscure  American  college  graduate,  experimenter 
in  chemistry,  advocate  of  Peace,  Justice  and  Humanity, 
sent  for  by  Wilhelm  Hohenzollern  II,  German  Emperor, 
absolute  lord  of  millions  of  human  beings  and  advocate 
of  War,  Injustice  and  Barbarity! 

Of  course,  anything  might  be  expected  during  such 
an  expedition  as  he  had  undertaken — yes,  even  this! 

Nevertheless,  he  found  himself  swallowing  hard  for 
a  moment,  as  he  turned  to  follow  the  obsequious  officer 
to  where  the  Master  of  the  Human  Hounds  was  being 
fawned  upon  by  those  of  his  General  Staff. 

A  wave  of  the  right  hand  sent  all,  including  von  der 
Hulze,  melting  away  into  the  dark  shadows,  like  wheat 
under  a  strong  wind. 

Standing  alone  before  the  man  at  the  mention  of 
whose  name  millions  grunted  "Hoch!"  and  other  mil- 
lions groaned  in  anguish,  Warden  felt  no  particular 


THE    PASSPORT  273 

sensation  of  awe.  The  extreme  plebeian  appearance  of 
the  Emperor  dispelled  what  might  otherwise  have  been 
the  fearsomeness  of  the  situation.  Remove  a  mighty 
monarch  from  the  environment  of  his  glittering  court, 
his  gold-laced  suite,  resplendent  uniforms  or  the  im- 
pressive military  ensemble  with  which  he  surrounds 
himself  and  he  becomes  common-place,  even  though  his 
figure  may  be  a  commanding  one.  In  the  case  of  Wil- 
helm  it  was  worse  than  common-place.  He  appeared,  to 
Warden,  quite  ordinary. 

There  were  no  preliminaries.  The  Emperor  gazed  at 
the  American  in  what  Warden  thought  was  an  ex- 
tremely impertinent  manner — "sizing  him  up,"  as  it 
were.  It  was,  in  all  probability,  a  new  sensation  to 
the  monarch  to  have  one  of  the  common  herd  approach 
him  as  the  young  American  had  done,  with  a  raising  of 
his  cap  and  then  replacing  it  again!  Such  a  thing  was 
unheard  of  in  Germany.  Still,  it  was  not  for  a  monarch 
to  remonstrate  with  a  menial  and,  as  there  was  no 
court  officer,  no  court  chamberlain,  no  gentleman-in- 
waiting  and  no  other  Imperial  Court  barnacle  about, 
what  could  a  monarch  do  but  suffer  in  silence  under 
the  sting  of  such  a  wanton  affront. 

To  Warden,  the  situation  was  equally  incongruous. 
Here  he  was  standing  before  a  man  who,  he  perfectly 
well  knew,  expected  him  to  bend  his  knee  and  crave  a 
pardon  for  every  syllable  he  uttered.  Yet  any  majesty 
that  might  have  clung  to  an  Imperial  host,  out  of  his 
element,  did  not  cling  to  Wilhelm  of  Hohenzollern.  It 
did  not  even  appear  to  cling  to  Wilhelm  when  in  his  ele- 
ment, surrounded  by  all  his  gorgeous  staff ;  to  Warden, 
Majesty  could  not,  like  Charity,  cover  a  multitude  of 
sins.  He  had  loved  his  mother.  Wilhelm  had  cursed 
and  reviled  her  who  had  brought  him  into  the  world, 


274  THE    PASSPORT 

for  allowing  her  own  life  to  be  saved  at  the  expense  of 
a  withered  arm  for  her  son.  Wilhelm  had  virtually 
imprisoned  his  mother,  when  he  ascended  the  throne 
and  had,  otherwise,  shown  the  brute  in  him  by  his  un- 
filial  acts  that  no  human  soul  should  have  been  guilty 
of.  Where  he  had  honored  and  respected  his  friends, 
Wilhelm  of  Hohenzollern  had  dishonored  and  repud- 
iated those  who  had  stood  by  him  and  his  empire. 
Where  he  represented  the  lofty  American  ideals  of  jus- 
tice and  right,  Wilhelm  represented  the  quintessence  of 
injustice  and  ruthless  might. 

Then  who  should  bend  the  knee  ? 

He  certainly  would  not. 

The  Emperor's  voice  was  not  pleasant,  when  he 
finally  spoke,  in  faultless  English.  His  first  words  were : 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?" 

"Your  Excellency  ..."  began  Warden. 

"When  you  address  an  Emperor  you  address  His 
Majesty,  my  man!"  was  the  severe  reproof,  as  the 
German  War  Lord  drew  himself  up  haughtily. 

"I  had  a  talk  with  the  President  of  the  United  States 
not  long  ago,"  pursued  Warden,  ignoring  the  correc- 
tion. "And  I  addressed  him  as  His  Excellency.  It  is 
a  title  that  is  considered  fit  for  the  President  of  a  Re- 
public. The  only  Majesty  we  Americans  know  is  the 
Law,  which  represents  Justice.  True,  it  misrepresents 
it  sometimes,  but  it  still  remains  the  Majesty  of  the 
Law." 

"But  I  am  not  interested  in  all  this.  What  I  desire 
to  know  is  why  you  are  here,  at  this  particular  time." 
The  Emperor  seemed  irritated  and  impatient. 

"I  was  brought  here  under  guard,  by  one  of  your 
Generals." 


THE    PASSPORT  275 

"Yes,  yes,  I  know.  But  why  are  you  in  Germany 
at  all?" 

"I  am  here,  Sir,  because  I  am  interested  in  an  Amer- 
ican girl,  who  was  inveigled  into  your  country  by  two 
of  your  women  spies,"  replied  Warden,  after  a  slight 
pause.  "I  am  not  here  for  any  other  reason  and  I 
shall  be  glad  to  leave  again,  if  your  officers  will  allow 
me  to  escort  the  young  lady  in  question  out  of  the 
country." 

"I  am  not  interested  in  those  matters,  either,"  ex- 
claimed the  Emperor,  petulantly.  "I  have  generals 
who  attend  to  these  minor  affairs.  I  came  here  be- 
cause I  wanted  to  see  the  man  who  is  supposed  to  have 
made  a  certain  discovery,  which  I  desire  to  investigate." 
He  again  allowed  his  gaze  to  sweep  Warden  from  head 
to  foot.  "You  are  not  the  man  they  speak  of,  are 
you?" 

There  was  implied  incredulity  in  the  question. 

"I  believe  I  am,"  replied  Warden,  very  quietly. 

"You  discovered  a  gas  or  fume?" 

"I  made  a  discovery  that,  I  believe,  is  troubling  some 
of  your  staff." 

"Well,  what  is  this  discovery  then?  Take  off  that 
blindfold!  Look  at  me!" 

"No  one  knows  that  except  myself,"  said  Warden,  re- 
moving the  cloth  from  his  head. 

"But,  I,  Wilhelm  ...  the  Emperor,  am  asking  you. 
That  makes  a  difference." 

"None  whatever,  to  me,  Sir." 

The  Emperor  was,  unmistakably,  swallowing  his 
pride  and  his  conceit.  If  the  rebuff  in  Warden's  last 
reply  struck  its  mark,  Wilhelm  did  not  allow  it  to  be 
seen. 


276  THE    PASSPORT 

"We  have  heard  that,  with  your  discovery,  large 
bodies  of  men  can  be  overcome,  rendered  helpless,  so 
that  they  could  easily  be  made  prisoners.  Is  that  so  ?" 

The  Emperor  was  evidently  repeating  von  der  Hulze's 
formula  from  memory. 

"That  is  so,"  Warden  calmly  responded. 

"Is  it  a  gas  or  a  solid?" 

"It  is  a  secret." 

"Have  you  given  any  government  the  exclusive  right 
to  your  discovery,  whatever  it  is?" 

"No  one  will  ever  have  the  exclusive  or  any  other 
right  to  it,"  answered  Warden,  very  earnestly.  "It 
would  be  too  terrible  a  weapon  in  the  hands  of  any 
Power,  an  unscrupulous  Power,  for  instance." 

The  Emperor  winced  under  the  searching  look  that 
the  young  American  gave  him.  But  he  returned  to 
the  attack  again  at  once: 

"Then  why  did  you  go  to  the  British  Foreign  Office  ?" 

"Under  certain  conditions  I  would  be  inclined  to 
allow  the  British  government,  as  well  as  the  French 
government,  to  have  the  benefit  of  my  special  knowl- 
edge." 

The  Imperial  inquistor  shifted  his  position  impa- 
tiently and  seemed  to  be  weighing  his  words  carefully. 

"It  is,  then,  a  matter  of  .  ;.,  .  money?"  he  finally 
asked. 

"Not  entirely."  .Warden  was  now  perfectly  at  ease 
with  this  man,  who  was  such  a  bogey  to  so  many  thous- 
ands but  who,  with  him,  was  conducting  an  ordinary 
business  conversation  in  an  ordinary  way,  except  for 
the  unusual  time  and  place. 

"You  have  not  finally  closed  with  the  British  gov- 
ernment ?" 


THE    PASSPORT  277 

j 

"Not  finally,  no."  The  American  was  curious  to  see 
what  would  result. 

"Then  .  .  .  you  might  consider  an  offer  .  .  .  from 
Germany?"  slowly  and  distinctly  came  from  the  Em- 
peror. "I  am  willing  to  give  you  several  million  dol- 
lars for  your  discovery — if  it  is  what  is  claimed  for  it. 
But  Germany  is  to  have  the  exclusive  right  to  it  for  a 
term  of  years,  say  fifty  years." 

"That  would  be  quite  impossible,"  Warden  replied. 
"I  am  afraid  Germany  could  never  have  the  benefit  of 
the  knowledge  that  I  happen  to  have.  No  one  nation 
shall  have  the  exclusive  right  to  it,  or  the  opportunity 
to  use  it,  unless — " 

"Yes,  yes?    Unless  what?"  interrupted  the  Emperor. 

"Unless  you  detain  me  in  Germany  five  minutes 
longer  than  midnight  day  after  to-morrow,  in  which 
event,  because  of  my  not  having  communicated  with  my 
friends,  the  secret  is,  automatically,  at  the  disposal  of 
all  the  allies  now  against  you  as  well  as  of  Holland, 
Switzerland,  the  United  States,  of  course,  and  also  of 
Denmark." 

"I  do  not  quite  understand  this."  The  Emperor 
spoke  with  forced  calmness.  "In  what  manner  will  this 
.  .  .  discovery  ...  of  yours  go  to  these  nations  ?" 

"It  means,  Sir,"  explained  Warden,  "that  I  have 
made  the  most  minute  arrangements  to  safeguard  the 
formula  that  I  have  evolved.  If  I  live,  or  if  I  die  a 
natural  death  while  in  the  hands  of  friends,  the  formula 
will  be  used  in  such  a  manner  by  those  to  whom  it  be- 
comes, automatically,  entrusted,  that  Germany  will 
suffer  the  least.  For  example,  the  Russians  would  not 
be  able  to  avail  themselves  of  it  and  devastate  your 
country  from  the  Russian  border  to  the  very  Rhine. 


278  THE    PASSPORT 

The  BritisK  and  French,  you  know,  as  well  as  I  do,  fight 
fair  and  will  not  devastate.  In  that  they  are  different 
from  the  Germans,  as  you  also  know.  They  would 
not  ...  " 

"Your  ignorance  of  court  etiquette  makes  you  im- 
pertinent !"  said  the  Emperor,  sharply. 

"This  is  hardly  the  time  to  speak  of  court  etiquette, 
Mr.  Emperor,"  replied  Warden,  with  some  heat.  "I 
am  a  plain  American,  one  of  many  millions  who  abhor 
the  manner  in  which  you  have  made  war.  Fortunately, 
I  have  been  given  the  power  to  discover  a  mode  of  end- 
ing your  bloody  warfare.  Fortunately  for  me,  I  am 
so  placed  this  moment  that  you  would  not  dare  to  have 
violent  hands  laid  upon  me,  for  I  am  worth  more  to  you 
alive  than  dead.  In  fact,  it  is  to  see  me  safely  guarded 
wherein  lie  your  vital  interests.  I  am  not  the  kind  that 
bullies  or  that  browbeats.  I  do  not  threaten.  All  that 
I  say  is  that  I  alone  can  prevent  Russia  from  marching 
over  your  country  like  ants.  You  know  what  such  a 
march  would  mean;  it  might  even  equal  in  horror  the 
German  march  through  poor  Belgium." 

"But  why  not  listen  to  reason,"  spoke  the  Emperor, 
almost  in  a  monotone.  There  was  little  of  fire  in  his 
speech  now.  "You  can  make  untold  money,  which  will 
be  paid  you  in  gold,  if  you  will  give  up  your  secret  to 
Germany.  I  will  cause  an  apology  to  be  sent  to  your 
President  and  government  and  will  cause  a  treaty  to 
be  entered  into  whereby  your  country  and  mine  will 
have  the  closest  relations  hereafter,  without  a  thought 
of  a  political  difference." 

Warden  smiled  sadly,  shaking  his  head.  "You  do 
me  a  great  honor,  Sir,  to  consider  me  a  special  envoy 
from  my  country,  which  I  am  not.  I  am  not  entering 
into  treaty  negotiations  with  Germany  or  any  other 


THE    PASSPORT  279 

nations.  I  am  sorry  for  Germany,  really,  but  I  am 
afraid  that,  hereafter,  your  country  will  have  to  have 
a  surety  bond  before  any  nation  will  accept  a  treaty 
from  you.  I  shall  expect,  of  course,  before  I  leave  you, 
that  an  order  shall  be  immediately  issued  by  you  can- 
celling that  absurd  ultimatum  that  your  Foreign  Office 
has  sent  to  our  good  President.  That  is  one  of  the 
conditions  I  make  for  preventing  the  ransacking  of 
your  empire  by  the  Slavs.  I  am  free  to  tell  you" — the 
Emperor  began  pacing  up  and  down  within  a  limited 
space  in  front  of  Warden — "that,  from  personal  in- 
vestigations I  have  made,  with  our  secret  service  offi- 
cers, I  think  you  had  considerable  assurance  to  pro- 
voke a  peaceful  government  which  your  people  were 
doing  their  best  to  undermine  right  within  sight  of  the 
White  House." 

The  Emperor  had  stopped  his  pacing  and  stood, 
squarely  facing  Warden,  his  legs  spread,  in  an  atti- 
tude that  might  have  been  taken  for  one  of  defiance. 

"What  do  Great  Britain  and  France  expect  to  ac- 
complish?" he  demanded. 

"To  stop  the  war,  I  suppose." 

"What  are  they  going  to  demand  of  Germany?" 

"Again  you  are  considering  me  as  an  envoy  from 
another  government,"  remonstrated  Warden.  "The 
British  Foreign  Office  has  not  taken  me  in  its  confidence. 
Neither  has  the  French  Foreign  Office." 

"Do  they  desire  to  dismember  the  empire?  Have  you 
heard  anything  about  this?" 

"I  do  not  think  they  do,"  Warden  replied.  "In  fact 
I  am  almost  sure  they  do  not,  for  I  am  inclined  to  make 
that  a  condition  if  the  allies  are  to  use  my  secret.  I 
am  candidly  hopeful  that  they  will  make  you  pay  for 
every  dollar's  worth  of  damage  that  you  have  done  to 


280  THE    PASSPORT 

Belgium  and  to  Northern  France,  to  pay  for  every 
vessel,  to  the  smallest  fishing  smack,  which  your  sub- 
marines have  murderously  sunk,  or  which  have  been 
sunk  by  your  sea  raiders,  to  pay  full  toll  to  the  allies 
for  their  war  expenditures  so  that  they,  in  turn,  may 
fully  provide  for  the  orphans  and  widows  that  you  have 
made  and  to  make  such  arrangements  as  will  prevent 
Germany  from  ever  again  going  on  the  warpath." 

The  Emperor  laughed  but  the  laugh  was  far  from 
mirthful.  He  strove  to  conceal  an  impotent  rage  with 
a  smile  that  made  the  attempt  at  deceit  the  more  ridic- 
ulous. 

"You  should  be  recommended  to  my  enemies  as  a 
peace  dictator,"  he  said,  sarcastically.  "You  would 
leave  us  nothing  at  all.  We  might  as  well  fight  to  the 
finish  and  be  done  with  it." 

"Pardon  me,  Sir,  you  will  find  that  they  can  do  much 
worse — if  terms  of  peace  are  dictated  also  from  your 
eastern  boundaries." 

The  allusion  to  the  Slavs  and  the  possibility  of  a 
Slav  invasion  again  caused  the  Emperor  to  change  his 
manner.  It  was  his  one  vital  spot  and  Warden  was 
quick  to  take  immediate  advantage. 

"You  can  save  Germany  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary 
agony,"  he  pursued,  earnestly.  "You  cannot  possibly 
save  her  from  ultimate  defeat.  I  am  but  ..." 

"You  are  but  a  young  fool,  an  impertinent  young 
fool!"  angrily  declared  the  monarch. 

"I  am  young,  granted,"  returned  Warden,  patiently. 
"I  am  not  a  fool,  and  no  one  knows  that  better  than 
you  do.  I  am  placed  in  a  position  such  as  no  young 
man  ever  was  placed  in  before  and  probably  never  will 
again.  I  refuse,  point  blank,  to  accept  the  so  called 


THE    PASSPORT  281 

majesty  of  your  position.  You  are  to  me  the  head  of 
a  nation,  no  more  majestic  or  august  than  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  and  certainly  not  better.  In 
your  individual  case,  not  nearly  so  good  or  great.  I 
have  a  certain  power  over  }-ou,  given  to  me  by  the 
same  God  whom  you  so  recklessly  and  sacrilegiously 
bring  into  your  warlike  and  destructive  utterances.  I 
am  using  this  power  for  nothing  except  to  save — not  to 
kill  and  conquer  as  you  would  use  it.  There  is  no  im- 
pertinence in  trying  to  convince  you  that  I  cannot  sell 
myself  to  you  or  Germany.  Neither  need  you  any 
proof  that  I  can  do  what  I  claim  I  can  'do.  You  have 
had  your  reports  of  your  U-40,  captured  by  me,  single- 
handed;  the  preventing  of  the  shooting  in  the  Cleve 
court-yard  of  three  German  women;  the  collapse  of 
your  scheme  to  establish  submarine  bases  and  work- 
shops in  American  waters.  You  know  that  my  secret 
is  potent." 

"What  is  it  that  you  want?"  The  words  were  said 
harshly  and  with  evident  effort. 

"I  desire  a  free  conduct  for  myself  and  Miss  Mary 
Berwin,  through  your  lines,  to  France,"  Warden  said, 
in  decided  tones.  "I  want  you  to  have  that  miserable 
little  Colonel  von  Tiipper  stopped  in  his  wanton  killing 
of  women — your  own,  German  women,  mind  you.  I 
want  every  threat  against  my  own  country  immediately 
withdrawn  and  an  apology  sent  to  my  President.  I 
want  you  to  make  an  emphatic  statement,  which  is  to 
be  strictly  lived  up  to,  that  no  more  assassination  shall 
be  indulged  in.  The  German  submarines  are  to  give 
everyone  on  board  the  vessels  that  they  stop  full  chance 
to  get  away  before  their  vessel  is  sunk.  You  know  what 
the  world  thinks  to-day  of  the  German  murder  of  fif- 
teen hundred  non-combatants  on  the  Lusitania." 


282  THE    PASSPORT, 

"That  was  an  error,  a  lamentable  error,"  murmured 
the  Emperor.  "I  never  authorized  that  act." 

"It  makes  little  difference  whether  you  authorized  it 
or  not.  Make  sure  that  no  one  else  authorizes  it  in 
the  future.  Do  all  this,  and  promptly,  Mr.  Emperor" 
— Warden  was  intensely  serious — "and  I  shall  use  my 
good  offices  with  your  enemies  to  have  the  final  account- 
ing made  as  palatable  as  they  possibly  can.  To  that 
extent,  I  shall  agree  to  act  as  your  envoy,  before  the 
final  peace  terms  are  dictated." 

The  Emperor  seemed  not  to  notice  him. 

Finally,  pulling  himself  together,  he  turned  toward 
where  he  had  last  seen  von  der  Hulse  and  the  other 
members  of  the  General  Staff.  The  Heavenward  ray 
of  the  automobile  searchlight  having  been  extinguished 
as  soon  as  the  Emperor  reached  the  rendezvous,  there 
was  little  light  and  Wilhelm  found  it  difficult  to  locate 
his  entourage. 

The  Emperor  placed  two  fingers  of  his  right  hand  in 
his  mouth,  as  a  schoolboy  does  with  so  much  noncha- 
lant dexterity,  and  brought  out  a  slight,  peculiar 
whistling  sound. 

Instantly  von  der  Hulze  and  another  General  came 
out  of  the  enshrouding  gloom. 

"Where  is  this  young  woman  this  man  speaks  of?" 
Wilhelm  demanded  of  the  Chief  of  Staff. 

"I  have  just  received  word  that  she  is  at  Endheim, 
Your  Majesty,"  responded  von  der  Hulze.  "It  seems 
she  had  trouble  with  von  Tiipper  and  escaped  to  End- 
heim." 

Warden,  overhearing  the  colloquy,  was  all  ears. 

"Send  her  here.  Have  an  automobile  get  her  imme- 
diately. See  to  it  that " 

"Pardon  me,  Your  Majesty,"  broke  in  Warden,  bow- 


THE    PASSPORT  283 

ing  slightly,  the  Emperor  involuntarily  starting  at  the 
unlooked-for  title  from  the  American  and  the  respectful 
obeisance  that  accompanied  it.  "My  satchel,  contain- 
ing my  clothes,  is  at  General  von  der  Hulze's  headquar- 
ters. I  should  like  that  brought  here  also.  As  Miss 
Berwin  left  Cleve  hurriedly,  will  you  order  that  her 
effects  be  forwarded  here  as  well?" 

A  feather  would  have  knocked  von  der  Hulze  an3  the 
other  member  of  the  Staff  down  at  that  moment. 

Both  gasped  at  the  temerity  of  the  young  American 
who  had  dared  to  address  their  august  monarch  with- 
out permission. 

Their  amazement  was  increased  when  the  Emperor 
idid  not  appear  to  resent  the  intrusion  but,  instead, 
nodded  assent. 

"Have  that  done  also,"  he  repeated  to  von  Ider 
Hulze,  who  did  not  seem  to  understand  what  was  being 
said  to  him.  "Furthermore,"  continued  Wilhelm,  "in 
the  case  of  this  young  man,  I  desire  that  he  reach  the 
enemies'  lines  without  delay.  I  shall  give  him  a  safe 
conduct.  Who  has  the  portfolio  ?"  he  demanded,  as  one 
of  the  officers  hastened  away.  The  officer  was  called 
back  and  told  to  bring  writing  materials. 

When  the  portfolio  was  held  before  Wilhelm,  one  of 
the  Staff  allowed  the  light  from  a  small  electric  lamp 
to  fall  upon  the  pad. 

The  Emperor  wrote  without  hesitation,  on  cards 
which  he  had  taken  from  his  pocket  while  waiting  for 
the  return  of  the  officer,  apparently  knowing  exactly 
what  he  was  about.  There  was  a  business-like  way 
about  him  which  again  brought  to  Warden  the  thought 
that  it  was  a  pity  that  Wilhelm  was  not  the  head  of  a 
great,  hustling  American  corporation.  He  smiled  at 
the  idea  of  the  trusts  and  combines  this  remarkable, 


284r  THE    PASSPORT 

versatile  individual  would  then,  undoubtedly,  create. 

The  execution  of  the  safe  conducts  took  but  a  few 
moments,  while  the  chill  night  air  made  the  strange 
group  on  the  outskirts  of  that  German  military  camp 
shiver  uncomfortably,  even  in  their  warm  coats  and 
capes.  Both  cards  read  alike,  the  one  made  out  for 
[Warden  stating: 

TO  ALL  COMMANDING  OFFICERS: 

Extend  to  Mr.  Richard  Warden  every 
•facility  to  reach  French  or  British  lines 
as  expedltiously  as  possible.    Place  every 
mode  of  transportation  at  his  disposal. 
By  Imperial  Command: 
WILHELM  II,  REX. 

Finished,  the  Emperor  allowed  the  bowing  and  sub- 
servient von  der  Hulze  to  take  the  portfolio,  the  Chief 
of  Staff,  in  turn,  handing  the  two  precious  bits  of 
paste-board  with  a  profound  courtesy  to  Warden.  Von 
der  Hulze  thereupon  transmitted  the  Emperor's  orders 
to  the  others,  who  left  the  scene,  leaving  the  monarch 
and  his  Chief  of  Staff  alone  with  Warden.  Von  der 
Hulze  excusing  himself,  in  order  to  add  something  to 
the  orders  he  had  given,  gave  Warden  the  opportunity 
to  thank  Wilhelm. 

"I  thank  you  for  these  cards,  Sir,"  he  said,  pleas- 
antly. He  did  not  employ  the  higher  title,  now  that 
they  were  again  by  themselves.  The  Emperor  noticed 
it,  as  he  had  noticed  the  obsequiousness  of  the  previous 
salutation,  when  von  der  Hulze  was  present. 

"GliicJcliche  Reise,"  said  the  Emperor,  somewhat  bit- 
terly, but  without  anger.  "I  noted  the  respect  with 


THE    PASSPORT  285 

whicH  you  addressed  me  in  the  presence  of  my  Staff, 
which  I  appreciated." 

Von  der  Hulze  returning,  there  followed  a  brief  con- 
ference between  him  and  the  Emperor. 

Then  Wilhelm  signed  to  the  aviator  that  he  was 
ready. 

An  hour  and  a  half  had  elapsed  since  the  arrival  of 
the  Imperial  aeroplane. 

Again  its  motor  was  started.  Half  a  dozen  husky 
Germans,  routed  from  their  slumbers  in  the  camp, 
pushed  it  along  the  ground  for  a  short  distance,  and 
the  strange,,  midnight  visit  from  the  skies  of  Wilhelm 
of  Hohenzollern  became  a  memory. 

General  von  der  Hulze  and  the  other  German  officers, 
standing  rigidly,  with  their  right  hands  at  salute  and 
facing  the  spot  from  which  their  august  visitor  had 
made  his  departure,  remained  motionless  long  after  the 
whirr  of  the  aircraft's  motor  had  faded  into  a  scarcely 
audible  moan. 

Then  each  of  the  four  stalwart  Prussians  gave  vent 
to  a  deep  sigh,  which,  blending  into  one  great  exhala- 
tion, plainly  spoke  their  deification  of  the  Hohenzol- 
lerns. 

Von  der  Hulze,  turning  to  Warden,  said,  with  the 
utmost  courtesy: 

"You  will  be  shown  to  your  quarters  for  the  night, 
Sir." 


CHAPTER   XX 

THE  notes  from  a  bugle  brought  Warden  out  of  a 
sound  slumber.  At  first  he  could  not  understand  where 
he  was.  Instead  of  a  ceiling,  his  gaze  met  a  flapping 
tent  covering  and  it  was  a  full  minute  before  he  real- 
ized that  he  had  slept  in  a  camp,  a  German  camp,  and 
that  all  the  preplexities  that  he  had  felt  sure  would  be 
encountered  before  he  got  through  with  the  Germans, 
were  nullified  by  the  two  bits  of  cardboard  that  were 
securely  hidden  away  in  his  wallet. 

He  was  surprised  to  see  his  satchel  on  the  raised  floor, 
near  his  cot,  and,  jumping  from  under  the  army  blan- 
ket that  had  sheltered  him  during  the  night,  he  was 
still  more  surprised  to  see  a  camp  orderly  coming 
through  the  opening  of  the  tent,  bearing  a  tray  in  one 
hand  and  with  Warden's  trousers  slung  over  his  other 
arm,  the  garment  carefully  pressed. 

There  came  an  involuntary  smile  to  his  lips  as  he 
realized  the  attention  that  was  being  bestowed  upon 
him,  merely  because  von  der  Hulze  and  the  others  in 
command  were  in  ignorance  of  his  real  status  with  the 
Kaiser  and  were  taking  no  chances.  The  safe  con- 
ducts, personally  executed  by  His  Majesty,  were  all- 
sufficient  to  provide  an  open  sesame  in  the  eyes  of  those 
who  were  not  in  the  secret  of  what  had  really  transpired 
between  Warden  and  the  Emperor  at  that  midnight 
meeting. 

He  thanked  tHe  orderly,  who  told  him  that  Fraiilein 
Berwin  was  expected  at  the  camp  within  a  few  hours, 


THE    PASSPORT  287 

the  young  woman  having  remained  at  General  von  der 
Hulze's  headquarters  at  Endheim  for  the  night. 

After  he  had  enjoyed  the  frugal  breakfast  that  had 
been  sent  to  him,  he  strolled  out  of  his  tent  and  along 
the  outskirts  of  the  camp.  Twice  he  was  challenged 
by  sentinels  and  twice  these  same  sentinels  fell  back  and 
stiffened  up  like  marble  pillars  when  they  had  seen  the 
"Wilhelm  II,  REX"  and  the  Imperial  coat-of-arms  on 
the  safe  conduct  card. 

He  was  struck  with  the  remarkable  system  of  the 
German  camp.  There  was  not  a  stick  or  stone  out  of 
its  place.  Not  a  speck  of  dirt  was  to  be  found  any- 
where and  the  sanitary  perfection  of  the  arrangements 
extended  even  to  the  improvised  stables.  What  he  saw 
of  the  camp — which  covered  an  immense  area  over  the 
entire  valley — made  him  realize  the  thoroughness  of 
the  German  military  organization. 

He  no  longer  wondered  that  the  Kaiser's  men  held 
their  own  against  vastly  superior  numbers  of  the  enemy. 
The  force  that  he  surveyed  in  this  valley,  if  held  in 
leash  as  a  re-inforcement,  would  prove  a  mighty  one 
and  would  explain  to  him — even  though  it  might  convey 
no  meaning  to  those  at  a  distance  from  the  war  zone — 
the  stereotyped  report  of  "the  Germans,  after  being 
driven  back,  secured  reinforcements  and  overwhelmed 
the  enemy." 

His  morning  stroll,  which  had  taken  him  a  consider- 
able distance  from  his  tent,  was  interrupted  by  the  same 
orderly  who  had  previously  attended  him.  The  man 
saluted  and,  with  military  precision,  announced  that 
Fraiilein  Berwin  awaited  Hen*  Warden  at  camp  head- 
quarters. 

Mary  looked  more  girlish  in  her  youthful  beauty 
than  ever  to  him,  as  he  approached  the  Hauptquartier. 


288  THE    PASSPORT 

A  number  of  young  German  officers  were  grouped  about 
her,  their  stiff,  pompous  attitudes  unyielding  even  to 
the  presence  of  the  charming  picture  before  them.  They 
fawned  and  smirked  and  carried  their  'kerchiefs  from 
the  cuffs  of  their  uniform  sleeves  to  their  thick,  red 
lips  and  otherwise  disported  themselves  as  young  gal- 
lants in  amicable  rivalry  over  the  smiles  of  a  pretty 
woman. 

But  when  Mary  dropped  the  delicate  lace  confection 
that  she  had  carried  in  her  hand,  four  corseted,  tight- 
ly-laced, apoplectic-faced  Prussians  struggled  for  a 
full  two  minutes  before  the  first  of  them  was  able  to 
secure  the  dainty  mouchoir  and  return  it  to  its  fair 
owner.  The  oppressively  cumbersome  Prussianism,  so 
often  remarked  upon  in  German  military  operations, 
was  quite  as  much  in  evidence  in  their  social  gallantry. 

There  was  no  trace  of  the  annoyance  that  she  had 
suffered  in  her  hurried  departure  from  Cleve,  as  Mary 
greeted  him. 

"Dick  .  .  .  dear  Dick!  Oh  I  am  so  happy  to  be 
here!"  she  exclaimed,  as  she  gave  several  little  jumps 
in  her  ecstacy.  It  was  an  American  victory  over  the 
Germans,  for  the  Prussians  withdrew  to  the  shadow  of 
their  tent,  leaving  Warden  and  the  beautiful  girl  to 
themselves.  "I  have  had  a  perfectly  exciting  time  since 
you  left  Cleve  yesterday,"  she  continued,  with  anima- 
tion. "First  of  all,  that  miserable  little  von  Tiipper 
sent  for  me  and  proved  most  unpleasant.  He  would 
not  allow  me  to  go  back  to  Holland,  nor  would  he  allow 
me  to  proceed  to  Endheim,  or  to  do  anything  else  ex- 
cept to  stay  in  Cleve.  Something  about  the  man  fright- 
ened me  and  I  eagerly  accepted  Captain  Aller's  sug- 
gestion to  see  me  safely  smuggled  aboard  the  train  for 
Endheim,  with  the  chance  of  finding  you.  I  do  hope 


THE    PASSPORT  289 

Captain  'Aller  will  not  get  in  trouble  for  helping  me. 
He  was  a  real  friend.  I  reached  Endheim  very  late 
last  night  and  at  once  went  to  headquarters.  I  was 
treated  with  every  courtesy  there.  They  gave  me  a 
room  with  a  smoldering  log-fire,  beautifully  appointed 
and  the  first  thing  I  found  was  a  book,  ready  opened  at 
one  of  Heine's  delightfully  romantic  poems. 

"I  was  told  to  remain  there  until  the  General  could 
be  communicated  with.  Well,  let's  see.  Oh,  yes,  I 
asked  the  officer  in  charge,  particularly,  not  to  let  that 
miserable  little  upstart  of  a  von  Tiipper  get  hold  of  me, 
and  he  smiled.  Dick,  I  do  not  think  they  care  much 
for  that  little  man,  any  of  them.  They  told  me  you 
had  gone  on  with  the  General — somewhere — they  did 
not  know  where.  That  frightened  me  at  first,  but  they 
assured  me  that  you  were  safe.  Then,  at  an  unearthly 
hour  this  morning,  they  called  me  to  take  an  automo- 
bile ride!  Now,  Sir," — and  there  was  a  charming  at- 
tempt at  severity  in  her  manner — "tell  us  what  you 
have  been  doing!  You  walk  about  here  as  if  you  own 
the  place.  Our  position  is  rather  unconventional,  I 
should  say" — she  laughed  heartily  as  Warden  nodded 
a  sober  assent — "What  are  the  orders,  General?" — 
she  saluted,  in  true  Prussian  style,  trying  to  look  se- 
rious— "what  are  we  going  to  do  next?" 

Fascinated  by  her  prattle,  Warden  had  not  inter- 
rupted her.  Mary  was  not  the  sort  to  get  either  fright- 
ened or  irritated  over  trivial  annoyances,  nor  at  the 
greater  ones,  for  that  matter.  Inconveniences  were 
not  important  to  her,  if  there  were  no  serious  results ; 
she  was  able  to  acclimate  herself  immediately  to  cir- 
cumstances and  conditions. 

So,  while  she  had  been,  for  a  time,  frightened  over  her 
experiences  with  von  Tiipper,  the  two  striking  incidents, 


290  THE    PASSPORT 

to  her,  of  her  arrival  at  Endheim  had  not  been  her  lone- 
liness and  helplessness  in  a  strange  country,  but  the 
cheerful  open  fire  in  the  comfortable  room  of  the  cha- 
teau and  the  volume  of  Heine's  poems,  turned  open  at 
a  romance! 

They  were  told  that  a  military  automobile,  which 
came  up  to  headquarters  at  that  moment,  had  been 
placed  at  their  disposal  as  far  as  Eupen,  where  the 
authorities  at  the  "former  Belgian  frontier"  would 
make  further  arrangements  for  their  journey  to  the 
enemy  lines. 

Warden  was  cautioned  to  have  his  safe  conduct  cards 
ready  at  hand  for  instant  inspection  upon  demand,  as 
little  time  was  wasted  by  the  German  patrols  in  parley- 
ing, and  that  he  would  save  himself  annoyance  by  ask- 
ing as  few  questions  along  the  way  as  possible. 

It  was  a  splendid  day  and,  after  they  had  passed  out 
of  the  valley  and  reached  the  top  of  a  steep  grade  on 
the  hills  opposite,  they  found  that  their  route  lay 
through  a  beautiful  Prussian  countryside.  Occasion- 
ally they  would  meet  with  army  transports,  bound  in 
the  same  direction  that  they  were,  making  short  hauls 
of  ammunition  and  other  military  necessities  to  the 
railroad  depots  whence,  thanks  to  the  remarkably  com- 
plete German  transportation  scheme,  they  were  hurried 
to  the  front  by  steam. 

At  railroad  crossings,  they  were  halted  twice  by 
long,  melancholy  troop-trains,  the  windows  of  the 
coaches  choked  with  stolid,  expressionless  faces.  There 
were  no  hurrahs,  no  animated  waving  of  hands  and  hel- 
mets. The  days  of  war  enthusiasm  had  evidently  gone 
by.  Those  whom  they  saw,  bound  for  the  battle-lines, 
were  in  no  mood  for  exhultant  greetings.  Resignation 
rather  than  eagerness  was  written  on  the  faces.  These 


THE    PASSPORT  291 

troop-trains  reminded  Warden  strongly  of  the  long 
lines  of  cattle-trains  he  had  seen  entering  Chicago,  with 
the  dull,  patient  brutes  going  to  the  slaughter  and, 
seemingly,  sub-consciously  aware  of  their  approaching 
end.  He  turned  to  Mary. 

"It  is  less  than  a  fortnight  ago  that  I  said  good-bye 
to  you  in  New  York,  believing  you  would  wait  for  my 
return  there,  and  here  we  are,  both  of  us,  travelling  by 
the  grace  of  the  Kaiser's  permission." 

"It  is  strange,  isn't  it,  Dick.  Mamma  was  terribly 
worried  about  me  when  I  left  London  but  I  sent  her  a 
telegram  from  Holland,  telling  her  I  was  safe  and  that 
everything  was  alright." 

"You  are  not  the  least  bit  regretful  that  you  followed 
me  to  Europe,  dear?" 

"Would  I  have  hurried  after  you,  when  I  thought 
you  wanted  me  to  bring  the  packet  to  Germany,  if  I 
was  sorry  that  I  did  what  I  did?"  There  was  intense 
affection  for  the  stalwart  young  American  in  the  gaze 
that  she  bestowed  upon  him.  "My  Richard.  My  great, 
big,  wonderful  Richard.  Tell  me,  dear,  how  did  you 
manage  to  be  allowed  to  travel  about  this  way.  Did 
you  hypnotize  them  or  something,  to  make  them  so 
anxious  to  please?" 

"No,"  Warden  replied,  laughing.  "I  just  remembered 
one  thing,  and  one  thing  only,  and  that  was  that  I  had 
a  certain  way  to  go,  that  justice  was  on  my  side  and 
that  it  was  up  to  me  to  convince  everyone  with  whom  I 
came  in  contact  that  it  was  to  his  interest  to  see  me  on 
my  way." 

There  was  a  short  period  of  silence,  during  which 
both  drank  in  of  the  perfume  that  came  from  a  million 
blossoms  on  the  fields.  Suddenly  Mary  looked  at  her 
companion  in  a  frightened  way. 


292  THE    PASSPORT 

"Dick,"  she  began,  "have  you  heard  anything  about 
what  is  happening  in  America?  The  last  I  heard  was 
that  Germany  had  sent  a  threat  to  the  President  and 
that  war  was  to  be  expected." 

"I  have  heard  nothing  but  I  am  pretty  sure  that  the 
ultimatum  that  was  sent  to  Washington  has  been  with- 
drawn by  this  time  and  that  there  is  not  the  slightest 
danger  of  war." 

"Why,  what  makes  you  think  so,  Dick?" 
"The  Kaiser  practically  said  so  to  me." 
"The  .   .   .  Kaiser?    Are  you  dreaming,  boy?" 
"Certainly  not,  dear.     Who  got  me  to  the   camp 
which  we  have  just  left?     The  Kaiser.     Who  had  you 
brought  to   the   camp   from  Endheim?     The   Kaiser. 
Who   provides    this   motorcar   for   us?      The   Kaiser. 
Who  is  seeing  us  safely  to  within  the  French  or  British 
lines?     Why,  the  Kaiser,  of  course.     And  here  are  the 
Kaiser's  credentials."     He  showed  her  the  personally- 
signed,  Imperially-crested-and-stamped   safe-conducts, 
which  amazed  her  considerably,  and  the  next  half-hour 
was  taken  up  with  a  recital,  in  detail,  of  Warden's  ex- 
periences since  leaving  Rotterdam  the  morning  after 
Mary  left  the  same  Dutch  city  for  the  German  frontier. 
"Dick,  you  are  a  wonderful  hero  !"  exclaimed  the  girl, 
delightedly.     "You  do  not  seem  to  realize  that  you, 
alone,  settled  the  trouble  that  Germany  threatened  the 
United  States  with.    What  are  you  going  to  do  next?" 
"Get  into  France  as  quickly  as  possible  and  make 
the  final  arrangements  for  the  preparation  of  my  gas 
bombs,  before  they  can  start  another  big  battle  and 
kill  some  more  thousands  on  both  sides.     Four  days  in 
Europe  have  given  me  my  fill  of  war,  its  horrors  and  its 
injustice  as  well  as  its  related  acts  of  individual  cruelty. 


THE    PASSPORT  293 

That  one  incident  in  the  Cleve  court-yard  was  enough 
to  sicken  me  of  war." 

"Captain  Aller  told  me  the  three  women  had  been 
reprieved  for  two  days  by  the  Colonel." 

"General  von  der  Hulze  saved  them  altogether,  that 
same  night,"  said  Warden. 

At  Eupen,  close  to  the  "former  Belgian  frontier," 
as  the  officer  in  the  camp  had  characterized  it,  they 
quit  their  motorcar  at  the  railroad  station.  A  Prus- 
sian petty  officer,  scenting  an  opportunity  for  trouble, 
stepped  briskly  forward  as  the  chauffeur  was  placing 
the  luggage  of  the  couple  on  the  station  platform. 

"Your  passports  !"  he  demanded,  roughly,  making  no 
attempt  at  civility  even  in  the  presence  of  the  young 
woman. 

Warden  handed  over  the  two  cards  signed  by  the 
Emperor  and  the  petty  officer  stuttered  several  words 
in  a  wild  endeavor  to  regain  his  equilibrium  and  do 
homage  to  these  two  young  people  who  had  been  so  sig- 
nally favored  by  the  Hohenzollern. 

"The  next  military  train  is  expected  to  pass  through 
in  two  hours  or  less.  Will  the  Herr  and  the  Fraiilein 
partake  of  refreshment,  perhaps?"  He  was  as  servile 
now  as  he  had  been  pompous  and  domineering  before. 

WTarden  escorted  Mary  into  the  station  waiting  room, 
where  a  small  counter  served  as  the  dispensary  for  such 
food  as  was  available  for  those  who  stopped  at  the 
frontier  post.  Everything  was  military,  even  to  the 
man  who  stood  behind  the  counter.  There  being  no 
civilian  traffic  across  the  border,  the  ticket  booth  had 
been  transformed  into  an  office  for  the  clerk  of  the 
transportation  bureau,  who  regulated  the  movement  of 
the  trains  for  the  front  with  fresh  troops  and  from  the 
front  with  the  maimed  and  sick. 


294  THE    PASSPORT 

In  time  the  westward-bound  train  came  in  sight 
through  the  Prussian  valley.  There  were  signals  from 
the  frontier  officers  and  a  series  of  responsive  whistles 
from  the  locomotive.  Then  eighteen  coaches,  drawn  by 
two  great,  puffing  engines,  came  to  a  stop  and  several 
hundred  young  Germans,  in  their  regimentals,  jumped 
from  the  cars  to  stretch  their  limbs  on  the  platform 
during  the  brief  delay  at  Eupen. 

After  much  trouble,  during  which  the  obsequious 
petty  officer  wore  himself  out  in  his  efforts  to  oblige 
the  two  Americans,  room  was  found  for  the  latter  in 
one  of  the  rear  compartments,  from  which  some  sol- 
diers had  gone  in  search  of  exercise  and  refreshment. 

There  were  still  eight  men  in  the  compartment,  the 
atmosphere  of  which  was  fetid  and  Warden  looked  for- 
ward with  unfeigned  disgust  at  not  being  able  to  pro- 
vide better  accommodations  for  his  dainty  companion. 
Mary  appeared  so  completly  out  of  place  in  this  gath- 
ering of  dirty,  unwashed  Landstrum  men. 

The  potency  of  Wilhelm's  signature  was  again  in 
evidence,  however,  for  a  few  moments  after  they  had 
taken  their  seats,  they  were  called  upon  to  produce 
their  passports  by  the  officer  commanding  the  regiment 
on  the  train.  When  this  worthy  glanced  at  the  two 
cards  he  at  once  ordered  every  soldier  out  of  the  com- 
partment. A  remonstrance,  unspoken  but  glared,  from 
one  of  the  unfortunate  privates,  brought  a  cuff  on  the 
side  of  the  face  that  sent  the  obstreperous  soldier  head- 
long to  the  station  platform.  Then  the  officer  com- 
manding apologized  to  Warden  for  the  untidy  appear- 
ance of  the  compartment  and  the  slowness  with  which 
the  men  had  evacuated  their  quarters. 

It  was  a  miserably  slow,  dusty  and  tiresome  journey 


THE   PASSPORT  295 

on  the  military  train.  The  outlook  from  the  compart- 
ment window  was  no  more  cheerful,  for  on  every  side 
was  devastation,  miles  upon  miles  of  it.  Every  house 
appeared  to  be  either  entirely  in  ruins  or  partly  so. 
Where  shells  had  taken  off  a  corner  of  a  building,  or  a 
portion  of  the  roof,  rough  repairs  had  been  made  in 
cases  where  the  luckless  Belgians  had  returned  to  their 
wrecked  abodes.  Nowhere  was  there  the  slightest  evi- 
dence of  rural  activity.  Children  played  in  ruins,  dogs 
and  pigs  rambled  through  ruins  and  such  houses  and 
farm  buildings  as  were  occupied  were  no  longer  sur- 
rounded by  walls  or  fences.  Fields  looked  dishevelled 
and  forlorn,  plowed  up  in  spots  where  huge  shells  had 
torn  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  but  without  a  sign 
of  Springtime  verdure.  Here  and  there  was  a  tree 
from  which  the  green  sprouts  tried  bravely  to  issue 
notwithstanding  the  scorching  fire  to  which  the  branches 
had  been  subjected;  but  the  trees  that  stood  were  few 
indeed  in  that  desolate  country. 

Whenever  the  train  came  to  a  stop,  which  was  of 
frequent  occurrence,  wan-faced  children  without  the 
usual  interest  in  their  looks,  stood  gaping  stupidly  at 
the  soldier-laden  coaches.  Soldiers  were  no  longer  a 
novelty  to  them,  apparently,  and  they  gathered  at  the 
stopping  places  only  because  there  was  nothing  else  for 
them  to  do. 

Towards  dusk  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  train  came 
to  their  compartment  and  told  Warden  that  the  train 
was  going  no  further  that  night,  probably  no  further 
at  all.  He  advised  Warden  to  seek  lodgings  at  one  of 
the  houses  in  the  neighborhood  telling  him  that,  if  he 
met  with  any  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  householder, 
to  let  him  know  at  once. 


296  THE    PASSPORT 

"If  any  of  these  Belgian  cattle  refuse  to  take  you 
in,  we  have  a  way  of  bringing  them  to  their  senses," 
the  officer  declared,  significantly. 

"Thank  you,  but  I  am  very  sure  these  good  Belgian 
folk  will  be  very  glad  to  give  what  poor  hospitality  is 
left  them  to  give,  which  is  not  much,  I  grant,"  said 
Warden,  testily. 

This  attitude  of  friendliness  towards  the  Belgians, 
on  the  part  of  a  man  travelling  on  the  hallowed  Em- 
peror's personal  pass,  was  beyond  the  Prussian's  power 
of  comprehension.  He  looked  in  frank  amazement  at 
the  American,  then  bowed  stiffly  and  turned  away. 

Nearby,  Warden  saw  a  little  homestead  that  seemed 
to  have  escaped  the  ravages  of  the  shell-fire  that  had 
demolished  most  of  the  surrounding  buildings.  On  a 
guess  he  and  Mary  went  over  to  it,  after  first  securing 
the  services  of  a  Belgian  boy  to  carry  their  two  satch- 
els. In  front  of  the  house  sat  an  old  woman,  kindly- 
faced  but  with  deep  sorrow  marking  her  furrowed  brow. 
Warden  addressed  her  in  French,  asking  whether  she 
had  sufficient  room  to  put  Mary  and  himself  up  for  the 
night.  If  not,  would  there  be  room  for  Mary  and  he 
would  seek  another  house  close  by. 

"We  are  Americans,"  Warden  said,  reassuringly. 
"This  young  lady  is  under  my  protection  and  I  am  es- 
corting her  to  France." 

"Mon  Dieu!  To  .  .  .  France  .  .  .  this  way?"  re- 
plied the  old  woman,  unbelieving. 

"Yes,  yes,  to  France  and  this  way,"  smiled  Warden. 
"No  fear,  mother,  we  shall  get  there,  only  we  must  put 
up  somewhere  for  the  night.  We  could  not  very  well 
remain  in  the  train." 

Slowly  and  silently  the  old  woman  led  the  way  into 
the  house. 


THE   PASSPORT  297 

"I  shall  have  some  supper  for  you,  presently,"  she 
said.  "It  is  not  much  that  we  can  offer  you  now. 
They  have  taken  everything — everything!" 

A  little  later  they  were  sitting  under  the  dim  light 
of  a  lamp  in  the  old-fashioned  living  room,  enjoying 
a  stew,  some  rough  bread  and  a  glass  of  light  wine,  the 
latter,  the  old  woman  said,  having  escaped  the  clutches 
of  the  drink-crazed  Prussians  when  they  first  went 
through  the  village.  There  was  little  use  for  it  now, 
she  explained,  for  she  had  been  left  alone  with  her 
daughter.  Husband  and  three  sons  had  been  killed. 
No,  not  in  battle,  but  murdered — against  a  wall — at 
the  other  end  of  the  village,  together  with  the  good 
Cure  and  the  village  schoolmaster.  The  assassins  had 
been  drunk  the  night  before  and  one  of  them  had  at- 
tacked her  daughter.  Her  youngest  son  had  knocked 
the  Prussian  brute  to  the  ground.  The  Prussian  had 
reported  to  his  commanding  officer  that  he  had  been 
wantonly  attacked  by  the  boy  and  that  the  others  had 
also  tried  to  kill  the  Kaiser's  men.  The  assassination 
followed,  without  the  slightest  inquiry  into  the  merits 
of  the  case. 

"But  others  have  suffered  worse  than  I  have,"  mut- 
tered the  old  woman.  "There  is  still  my  little  grand- 
son. He  will  avenge  us  some  day." 

The  boy,  ten  years  of  age,  came  in  at  the  moment, 
telling  his  grandmere  that  there  was  a  company  of 
mounted  Prussians  coming  through  the  village.  In- 
stinctively, and  notwithstanding  her  sorrow,  the  an- 
nouncement of  any  local  happening  took  the  old  wo- 
man to  the  door  of  her  house  to  see  the  new  arrivals. 
Warden  and  Mary  followed.  They  saw  a  company  of 
Uhlans  coming  through  the  village  street,  riding 
proudly  and  on  excellent  mounts. 


298  THE    PASSPORT 

In  stopping,  one  of  the  horses  reared  and  turned  at 
the  same  moment,  the  combined  movement  and  the 
quickness  of  it,  causing  the  Uhlan  on  its  back  to  fall 
from  the  saddle.  In  tumbling,  the  soldier  went  through 
a  number  of  comical  evolutions  that  brought  smiles  to 
the  faces  of  both  Warden  and  Mary  and,  in  the  case 
of  the  hostess's  grandson,  loud,  childish  peals  of  laugh- 
ter. 

The  boy's  merriment  was  heard  by  the  Captain  of 
the  Uhlans,  nearest  to  the  house.  He  turned  to  one  of 
his  men  and,  pointing  to  where  the  little  grandson  was 
still  laughing,  shouted: 

"Get  that  boy !" 

Warden  was  aghast  at  the  turn  affairs  were  taking. 
A  tall  Uhlan  dismounted  and  grabbed  the  little  chap 
who,  involuntarily,  tried  to  hide  between  Mary  and  the 
old  grandmother. 

"Shoot  the  brat!"  came  the  next  order  from  the 
Uhlan  Captain.  "Take  him  away  and  teach  these  swine 
a  lesson !" 

The  aged  woman  shuffled  forward  from  where  she 
had  been  standing  with  Warden  and  Mary.  She  knelt 
in  the  road  before  the  Captain's  horse,  in  momentary 
danger  of  being  trampled  by  the  restive  animal. 

"The  child  meant  no  harm !"  she  pleaded,  in  French. 
"Do  not  take  him  away  from  me.  He  is  the  last  of 
our  family.  He  did  not  mean  to  laugh  at  the  officer's 
misfortune." 

"Get  out  of  the  way!"  brutally  replied  the  Uhlan 
commander,  using  very  poor  French.  "Get  out  or  I'll 
drive  my  horse  over  your  dirty  Belgian  carcass !" 

Mary  was  unable  to  stand  passive  any  longer.  Be- 
fore Warden  could  restrain  her,  she  had  rushed  out  into 
the  road. 


THE    PASSPORT  299 

"You  brute!"  she  said,  scornfully,  to  the  Prussian, 
and  in  his  own  language.  "I  am  ashamed  of  my  Ger- 
man birth !" 

"Who  are  you,  now,  my  beauty?"  A  bestial  laugh 
accompanied  the  inquiry. 

Warden,  who  had  followed  Mary,  came  up  at  this 
moment.  Before  Mary  could  speak  again,  he  had  hold 
of  the  Uhlan's  horse,  which  threatened  to  plunge  over 
both  Mary  and  the  aged  Belgian  woman  at  any  mo- 
ment. 

"Let  go  of  that  horse !"  shouted  the  Uhlan.  "Here, 
you" — to  another  of  the  troop — "take  the  old  woman 
and  let  her  see  the  brat  shot." 

There  was  no  softening  in  the  brutal  face  as  they 
started  to  drag  the  venerable  grandmother  away. 
<What  was  intended  for  a  smile  took  shape  as  a  sneer  on 
the  heavy,  wet  lips  of  the  Uhlan  Captain.  He  sat  mag- 
nificently in  his  saddle,  erect,  with  head  perfectly  poised. 
"Take  them  away!"  he  shouted  again.  "Remember, 
shoot  around  the  brat  first !"  he  ordered  in  a  lower  tone 
to  a  subordinate.  Then,  louder,  "No  harm  to  the  old 
one." 

Turning  to  Warden,  who  had  released  his  hold  on 
the  bridle  of  the  captain's  horse  when  Mary  stepped 
back  and  the  old  woman  had  been  raised  to  her  feet, 
the  Uhlan  sneered : 

"Now  we  will  attend  to  you !" 

"You  call  back  those  men  with  the  woman  and  the 
boy  or  you  will  find  that  you  will  regret  this  day. 
Look !"  Warden  handed  the  captain  the  safe-conducts. 
When  the  officer  saw  the  signatures  and  the  official 
marks  on  the  passes  he  shouted  a  quick  order  and  an- 
other Uhlan  dashed  after  the  men  who  had  taken  the 
two  prisoners  away. 


800  THE    PASSPORT 

"I  am  not  certain  tfeat  this  card  from  His  Majesty 
gives  you  the  right  to  interfere  wfth  the  work  of  his 
officers,"  said  the  Uhlan  Captain,  undecidedly. 

"I  am  very  sure  that  it  does  not  give  me  that  right," 
responded  Warden  quickly.  "I  know  that  as  well  as 
you  do.  But  it  does  not  deny  me  the  privilege  of  in- 
forming His  Majesty  of  what  I  have  seen  this  evening, 
a  most  shameful  abuse  of  authority.  It  is  not  because 
you  think  this  card  gives  me  the  right  to  interfere  with 
you  but  because  you  would  not  want  me  to  possibly 
report  your  conduct  to  your  Emperor  that  you  have 
reconsidered  your  order  for  this  assassination." 

The  Uhlan  Captain  winced  under  the  words,  which 
were  given  distinct  emphasis  by  Warden  so  that  each 
should  go  directly  home  under  that  uniform  of  blue 
and  gold. 

Presently  the  aged  grandmother  and  her  little  grand- 
son were  brought  back,  more  gently  than  they  had  been 
taken  away.  The  old  woman  looked  wonderingly,  first 
at  the  Uhlan  Captain,  then  at  Warden  and  Mary.  She 
could  not  understand  what  miracle  had  happened  but, 
to  her  mind,  a  miracle  it  had  been  and  she  piously 
moved  to  a  small  crucifix  that  stood  near  the  house  in 
what  had  once  been  a  garden  and  prostrated  herself 
and  her  grandson  before  the  figure  of  the  Saviour. 

In  the  morning  Warden  was  informed  that  another 
train  would  probably  leave  the  village  during  the  fore- 
noon for  a  point  close  to  the  front  from  which  latter 
place  he  and  Mary  would  be  able  to  secure  a  military 
automobile  to  take  them,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  inside 
the  enemy  lines. 

The  point  at  which,  he  was  told,  he  and  Mary  would 
likely  cross  the  battle-line  would  be  about  ten  miles 
to  the  west  of  the  Argonnes.  Warden  calculated  that 


THE    PASSPORT  801 

this  would  bring  them  to  Chalons,  the  headquarters  of 
General  Langle  de  Carry  and  that,  from  Chalons,  the 
distance  was  about  equal  to  that  which  the  French  and 
British  General  Staffs  would  have  to  travel  to  meet  him 
in  the  French  capital. 

The  nearer  he  approached  France,  the  less  desirous 
he  became  to  take  the  part  of  Germany.  He  was  now 
firmly  convinced  of  the  inborn  brutality  of  the  Prus- 
sians and  that  the  only  salvation  of  Europe — and  the 
whole  civilized  world,  for  that  matter — demanded  the 
complete  overthrow  of  Prussianism  once  and  for  all. 

He  had  found  the  Prussian  officer  a  tyrant  even  to 
his  subordinates,  an  example  that  was  not  lost  on  the 
rank  and  file,  who  bestowed  a  like  tyranny  and  bru- 
tality upon  the  defenseless  and  helpless  inhabitants  of 
enemy  towns  and  hamlets. 

No,  there  was  no  solution  to  the  problem  facing  Eu- 
rope except  the  absolute  suppression  of  the  Hohenzol- 
lerns  and  all  the  feudal  barbarism  that  they  repre- 
sented. 

He  felt  that  God  had  given  him  a  weapon,  a  peace- 
ful, humane  weapon,  with  which  to  attain  that  end. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

THE  country  through  which  they  were  now  passing, 
the  southwestern  section  of  Belgium,  was  even  more 
desolate  in  appearance  than  that  which  they  had  tra- 
versed the  day  before.  Mere  Lambin  had  provided  the 
young  American  couple  with  a  little  basket,  in  which 
had  been  stowed  a  loaf  of  bread,  some  cheese,  a  sau- 
sage and  a  bottle  of  native  wine.  This  was  to  consti- 
tute their  mid-day  meal  and  its  presentation  was  ac- 
companied by  a  more  than  usually  fervent  blessing  from 
the  old  Belgian  woman.  It  was  the  only  material  token 
of  gratitude  that  Mere  Lambin  could  offer  Warden  for 
having  saved  her  and  her  little  grandson  from  the  bru- 
tal Uhlans  and  the  fact  that  the  fearless  American  had 
demanded  of  the  Uhlan  Captain  his  name  and  regimen- 
tal number,  as  a  hostage  for  his  future  good  behavior 
towards  the  inhabitants  of  Mere  Lambin's  village,  did 
not  lessen  the  esteem  that  Warden  was  held  in  by  his 
hostess  and  by  the  other  residents  of  the  place. 

Warden  as  well  as  Mary  tired  of  the  continued  scenes 
of  devastation  that  glided  by  the  compartment  windows. 
As  before,  the  Kaiser's  cards  afforded  them  the  privacy 
of  a  compartment  to  themselves  and  after  two  hours' 
travelling,  during  which  the  train — half  troop,  half 
freight — reeled  off  a  scarce  twenty  miles,  both  turned 
to  the  basket  as  much  for  a  change  of  thought  and  ac- 
tion as  for  a  definite  desire  to  eat.  The  dry  bread, 
cheese  and  sausage,  however,  went  remarkably  well, 


THE    PASSPORT  303 

washed  down  with  a  sip  from  the  bottle.  It  was  a  dem- 
ocratic meal,  for  there  were  no  knives,  forks  or  glasses, 
but  Mary  smiled  as  she  raised  the  bottle  and  allowed 
the  essence  of  the  grape  to  trickle  down  her  throat, 
an  operation  that  amused  Warden  as  much  as  it  did 
Mary,  with  the  result  that  both  forgot  their  uncom- 
fortable journeying  and  laughed  and  jested  like  two 
children  on  a  picnic. 

At  Marche  the  train  halted  for  the  fifth  time  in  an 
hour  and  for  the  fifth  time  in  that  hour  the  officer  in 
command  of  the  soldiers  guarding  that  section  of  the 
railroad  line  opened  the  compartment  door  for  a  look 
at  the  passports.  Like  all  his  predecessors  on  the 
same  mission  he  hastily  banged  the  door  shut  again,  af- 
ter he  had  seen  the  Imperial  safe-conduct  cards,  with 
a  salute  and  an  apology. 

Near  the  railroad  station  was  a  field  fenced  in  for 
cavalry  and  artillery  horses.  That,  in  itself,  was 
nothing  to  warrant  much  attention,  but  the  horses,  of 
whom  there  might  possibly  have  been  two  hundred, 
would  have  made  glad  the  hearts  of  a  company  of  St. 
Patrick's  Day  paraders. '  The  beasts  were  a  vivid  green 
and  they  looked  uncanny  in  their  verdant  make-up.  A 
few  were  still  in  process  of  having  their  natural  color 
altered  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the  campaign,  as  could 
be  seen  from  the  careful  and  discriminating  use  of  a 
huge  brush  and  a  pailful  of  bright,  green  paint,  by  a 
tall  Prussian  in  semi-regimentals. 

Mary  wondered  at  the  strange  sight  until  Warden 
explained  to  her  that  the  horses  in  this  war  had  to  be 
painted  to  conform  with  the  ground  color  scheme  in  or- 
der to  minimize  the  danger  from  aerial  attack.  During 
the  winter  campaign,  when  the  snows  covered  the 
ground,  the  horses  had  been  painted  white  if  they  had 


304  THE    PASSPORT 

not  been  born  so  and  now  they  received  their  second 
coat,  at  least  those  that  had  survived  the  first. 

Here  and  there,  as  the  train  continued  its  weary  roll- 
ing over  the  great,  wasted  plain,  were  clumps  of  trees, 
like  oases  in  the  desert.  All  around  them  everything 
that  had  been  raised  above  the  ground  had  been  razed 
to  it  by  shell  and  incessant  rifle  fire.  It  was  plain  that 
the  roadbed  over  which  they  travelled  had  been  repaired 
at  many  points,  filled-in  trenches  marking  the  line  of 
earlier  battles  after  the  Germans  had  violated  their 
oath  as  related  to  the  neutrality  of  Belgium. 

The  ground  everywhere  seemed  to  have  been  made 
over,  not  with  the  plow  and  harrow  but  with  the  how- 
itzer and  siege-gun.  In  place  of  sticks  marking  the 
rows  where  God's  free  gift  of  food  should  later  spring 
up,  there  were  rough,  wooden  crosses,  fashioned  out  of 
leveled  fence-posts,  stuck  into  the  earth  to  mark  the 
rows  of  unidentified  dead. 

Surely,  the  Grim  Messenger  had  done  the  reaping  in 
this  fertile  field  and  the  harvest  had  been  plentiful. 

Sickened  by  the  sight  of  all  this  misery,  Mary  had 
turned  her  head  from  the  window  and  was  dozing,  while 
Warden  gave  himself  up  to  thoughts  of  the  immediate 
future. 

If  there  were  no  unlooked-for  delays  they  should 
reach  the  end  of  the  line,  as  far  as  it  was  controlled 
by  the  Germans,  long  before  sunset.  The  journey  by 
automobile  to  the  trenches  and  again  from  the  trenches 
south  to  Chalons  should  bring  them  into  the  second  city 
of  the  Department  of  the  Marne  in  the  early  evening. 

He  would  ask  Mary  to  marry  him  at  Chalons,  for  he 
wanted  to  take  her  back  with  him  as  his  wife  when  the 
time  came  for  the  return  to  the  United  States.  No,  he 


THE    PASSPORT  305 

would  take  her  to  Paris  and  they  would  be  married  at 
the  American  Embassy,  a  more  fitting  place  for  the 
consummation  of  their  hopes.  Happiness  brought  a 
smile  to  his  face  as  he  sat  there,  thinking  of  just  how 
he  would  lead  Mary  before  the  American  Ambassador, 
for  the  ceremony. 

"What  are  you  smiling  about,  Dick?" 

"Why,  I  thought  you  were  sound  asleep !"  he  an- 
swered, surprised  to  find  her  watching  him  through 
half-closed  eyes. 

"That  is  not  answering  my  question.  What  were 
you  thinking  about?"  she  insisted,  laughing  mischiev- 
ously. 

"I  was  thinking,"  he  began,  deliberately,  "whether 
we  would  be  married  at  Chalons  or  wait  till  we  get  to 
Paris." 

"My  goodness!"  Mary  jumped  to  an  upright  po- 
sition, her  eyes  wide  open  now.  "Have  you  got  it  all 
fixed  to  your  own  satisfaction?" 

"I  think  Paris  would  be  preferable,"  he  went  on, 
teasingly.  "The  Ambassador  would  marry  us  there. 
It  would  be  more  appropriate." 

"But  are  you  the  only  one  to  decide  that  question?" 

"No,  the  Ambassador  may  object,  though  I  doubt 
it." 

"Well,  of  all  the  assurance!"  Mary  simulated  in- 
dignation. "Don't  you  think  that  7  should  have  been 
consulted  in  the  matter?" 

"Dear  heart,  I  knew  you  were  tired  out  with  your 
journeying  and  I  did  not  want  to  trouble  you  with  all 
these  little  details,"  Warden  replied,  moving  from  the 
seat  opposite  to  the  one  where  Mary  was  sitting  and 
gathering  her,  protestingly  and  petulant,  in  his  arms. 


306  THE    PASSPORT 

"Well,  I  am  glad  that  you  have  it  all  arranged,"  she 
finally  said,  in  quasi-anger.  "I  suppose  the  Kaiser  was 
also  responsible  for  that?" 

"To  some  extent — yes.  If  they  had  permitted  you 
to  go  back  to  Holland  we  would  probably  not  have  been 
married  before  I  could  get  back  to  London  or,  maybe, 
not  before  we  could  meet  in  New  York  again.  No  use, 
sweetheart,  it  was  bound  to  be  either  Paris,  London  or 
New  York  and  it  might  just  as  well  be  Paris.  Our 
journey  back  home  will  be  our  honeymoon." 

Their  happiness  was  interrupted  by  a  soldier  who 
opened  the  door  of  their  compartment,  the  train  hav- 
ing again  come  to  a  stop. 

"Bertrix !  As  far  as  we  go  !"  he  announced,  moving 
along  to  other  compartments  and  ordering  the  troop- 
ers who  occupied  them  to  leave  the  train. 

A  rattle  of  tins,  as  knapsacks  were  thrown  from  the 
cars  in  advance  of  the  debarkation  of  their  owners,  the 
thump  of  heavier  equipment,  the  shouts  of  soldiers  and 
deep-toned  orders  issued  by  their  superiors,  filled  the 
air.  An  officer  came  up,  seeing  the  couple  standing  on 
the  platform,  hesitatingly,  with  their  luggage  by  their 
side.  He  asked  to  see  the  passports. 

"Herr  Warden,  ah,  yes  !"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  scanned^ 
the  cards  offered  for  inspection.  "I  have  orders  to 
send  you  through  to  Gernay,  where  you  will  be  met 
by  a  French  car.  Also,  I  have  orders  to  hold  Fraiilein 
Buhrwein  here  temporarily.  The  telegram  says  that 
she  must  await  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  who  is  to  ar- 
rive by  the  morning  train." 

Warden  started  visibly  when  he  heard  the  German's 
words.  Mary,  who  also  understood  their  import,  drew 
closer  to  Warden  and  laid  one  hand  appealingly  on  his 


THE    PASSPORT  307 

arm.  The  hamlet  at  which  they  ma'de  their  final  stop 
was  a  mass  of  ruins,  without  any  visible  habitation. 
Even  the  railroad  station  was  demolished,  only  an  im- 
provised tin  shelter,  along  the  platform,  remaining  as 
evidence  that  the  place  was  a  transportation  terminal. 

"Have  my  baggage  taken  to  the  car,"  commanded 
Warden,  pointing  to  both  satchels.  Jerking  his  head 
shortly  toward  the  train  they  had  just  left,  by  way  of 
indicating  that  Mary's  luggage  was  still  on  board. 
"You  can  attend  to  the  lady's  baggage  afterward." 
At  the  same  time,  he  nudged  Mary,  so  that  she  would 
not  interfere  with  what  he  was  doing. 

Warden  had  seen  the  big,  grey  car  come  up,  engine 
purring.  When  the  baggage  was  safely  put  into  the 
car,  with  the  driver,  Warden  walked  slowly  toward  the 
machine,  talking  nonchalantly  to  Mary,  about  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  place,  the  fine  weather  and  every  other 
topic  that  came  first  into  his  mind.  All  the  time  he 
kept  nudging  her,  so  that  she  would  not  cause  any  sus- 
picion to  be  aroused  on  the  part  of  the  chauffeur  that 
all  was  not  right. 

The  officer  who  had  volunteered  the  information  that 
Mary  was  to  be  detained  had  stepped  down  the  plat- 
form to  give  some  orders  and  Warden  took  the  oppor- 
tunity to  get  Mary  to  the  automobile. 

He  fairly  pushed  her  headlong  into  the  tonneau 
when  they  reached  the  car.  Then,  jumping  in  himself 
and  slamming  the  door,  he  leaned  over  to  the  chauffeur: 

"As  quickly  as  you  know  how,  by  Imperial  com- 
mand !"  he  said,  softly.  "You  know  your  destination." 

"Gernay!"  said  the  driver,  briefly,  as  he  threw  the 
clutch  and  the  car  shot  forward. 

They  whizzed  over  a  stretch  of  comparatively  good 


308  THE    PASSPORT 

road  for  two  miles  without  a  word  being  spoken.  Once 
or  twice  Mary  looked  apprehensively  behind  her  over 
the  folded  hood  of  the  car. 

"How  far  is  it  to  Gernay?"  Warden  asked,  when  he 
became  satisfied  that  here  was  nothing  coming  in  pur- 
suit. 

"About  eighty  kilometers,"  answered  the  chauffeur. 

Warden  thought  they  were  travelling  at  about  twen- 
ty-five miles  per  hour. 

"We  should  make  it  in  two  hours,  then?"  he  asked 
the  man  at  the  wheel. 

"Not  with  three  rivers  to  cross,"  was  the  reply. 
"And  no  regular  bridges,  either,"  he  added. 

It  was  useless  to  worry,  so  Warden  resigned  himself 
to  await  the  outcome.  He  could  not  help  wondering, 
however,  who  it  was  that  had  been  so  bold  as  to  inter- 
fere with  the  specific  orders  of  the  Emperor.  Then  he 
had  an  inspiration.  Leaning  over  the  back  of  the  driv- 
er's seat,  he  held  the  two  Imperial  cards  before  the 
man's  eyes. 

"Ever  see  that  signature  before  ?"  he  demanded. 

"Y — yes,  Excellency!"  stuttered  the  chauffeur,  his 
eyes  big  and  making  every  effort  to  keep  a  steady  hand 
on  the  steering  wheel. 

"Well  then,  make  the  best  time  you  can  and  allow 
no  one  to  delay  us.  It  is  of  the  highest  importance  to 
His  Majesty  that  we  reach  France  at  the  first  possible 
moment !" 

"Yes,  Excellency!"  And  the  car  moved  faster, 
moved  by  the  awe  of  a  Hohenzollern,  quite  as  much  as 
through  the  force  in  its  supply  of  petrol. 

They  first  reached  the  Semois,  where  the  military 
road  continued  across  the  stream  by  means  of  a  pon- 
toon bridge.  As  they  reached  the  bank  of  the  river  they 


THE    PASSPORT  309 

were  stopped  by  a  huge  caravan  moving  slowly  and 
painfully  northward  over  the  stream. 

Frantic  yells,  shrieks  and  curses  came  from  this  long 
ribbon  of  humanity,  that  could  be  seen  winding  along 
the  road  on  the  southern  bank  for  fully  half  a  mile 
beyond  the  improvised  bridge. 

Those  of  the  caravan  who  had  already  reached  the 
side  of  the  river  on  which  the  automobile  stood  waiting 
for  a  chance  to  make  the  crossing,  were  struggling  with 
one  another  while  the  yelling  and  shrieking  kept  up 
without  any  abatement. 

"Who  are  those  fellows  ?"  Warden  asked  of  the  chauf- 
feur. 

"Madmen!  Excellency.  They  have  gone  mad  and 
are  on  their  way  home." 

"Are  there  .   .   .  many  .   .   .  like  that?" 

"Yes,  Excellency.  It  is  the  big-gun  firing  that  does 
it.  They" — indicating  the  jabbering,  yelling,  cursing 
mob — "they  will  never  get  well.  They  are  as  good  as 
dead.  They  might  better  be,  Excellency." 

The  sight  of  the  unfortunates  who  had  lost  their 
reason  through  the  detonation  of  the  modern  heavy 
artillery  had,  for  the  moment,  caused  Warden  to  for- 
get the  necessity  of  reaching  Gernay  before  the  arrival 
of  possible  pursuers. 

Reminded  of  their  danger,  he  urged  the  driver  of  the 
car  to  get  the  attention  of  an  officer  in  command  at  the 
bridge. 

That  official,  when  summoned  and  shown  the  safe- 
conduct  cards,  at  once  caused  a  signal  flag  to  be  hoisted 
and,  instantly,  Warden  saw  the  long  line  of  madmen 
stopped  at  the  other  end  of  the  pontoon,  so  that  they 
had  to  wait  only  for  those  then  on  the  structure  to 
reach  their  side  of  the  river. 


310  THE    PASSPORT 

They  crossed  the  Meuse,  half  an  hour  later,  with  less 
trouble  and  delay. 

By  this  time  both  had  recovered  their  confidence  but 
there  was  too  much  of  depression  in  the  very  air  of 
this  ravaged  country  to  make  animated  conversation 
possible. 

Mary  sat  looking  silently  ahead  and  Warden  knew 
that  she  was  awake  to  all  that  passed  only  by  an  occa- 
sional pressure  of  his  arm  through  which  hers  lay  trust- 
ingly entwined. 

The  rough  graves  in  the  fields  became  more  numer- 
ous and  long,  wide  trenches,  filled  in  and  with  a  make- 
shift cross  at  either  end,  showed  where  the  interment 
had  not  been  individual — where  a  hundred,  possibly 
five  hundred  had  found  reward  for  their  devotion  to 
flag  and  sovereign,  by  being  piled,  like  the  quivering 
carcasses  of  so  many  swine,  into  one  common  grave. 

To  their  left,  when  they  crossed  the  boundary  be- 
tween Belgium  and  France,  lay  Sedan,  that  huge  bat- 
tle-field of  history.  They  could  see  it  as  they  reached 
an  elevated  portion  of  the  road.  They  reached  French 
territory  midway  between  Sedan  and  Charleville,  which 
placed  them  in  the  rear  of  the  German  forces  at  the 
battle  line  under  Von  Heeringen. 

Already  great  numbers  of  troops,  relieved  from  duty 
in  the  trenches  for  some  hours,  were  encountered.  The 
Germans  looked  with  curiosity  on  the  swiftly  moving 
motorcar,  with  the  chauffeur  in  German  military  uni- 
form and  the  man  and  woman  in  the  tonneau. 

Three  times  after  reaching  the  first  of  the  rear- 
guard companies  the  car  was  stopped  with  a  demand 
for  passports  but  in  each  case  the  delay  was  trifling. 

Nevertheless,  every  recurring  order  to  halt  sent  a 
thrill  of  apprehension  through  both  Warden  and  his 


THE    PASSPORT  311 

protege,  for  neither  could  know,  for  a  certainty,  that 
the  order  for  the  detention  of  Mary  had  not  been  tele- 
graphed ahead. 

Then  they  met  with  their  first  accident. 

It  happened  on  a  portion  of  the  road  that,  because 
of  the  heavy  artillery  that  had  been  moved  over  it,  had 
become  rutted  and  soggy  with  mud.  One  of  the  wheels 
caught  in  a  rut,  the  car  twisted  about  and  loosened 
one  of  the  tires. 

While  waiting  for  the  chauffeur  to  make  repairs,  in 
which  he  was  assisted  by  some  soldiers,  glad  to  be  busy 
at  something  else  besides  killing  other  soldiers  or  loaf- 
ing in  a  trench,  the  young  people  had  ample  opportu- 
nity to  watch  the  doings  of  the  Kaiser's  men  on  active 
duty  at  the  front.  By  the  roadside  one  young  Prussian 
was  singing,  to  the  accompaniment  of  a  zither: 

In  elnem  kiihlen  Grunde, 

Da  gelit  eln  MiiJilenrad; 
Mein  LiebcJien  ist  verschwunden, 

Das  dort  gezvohnet  hat. 

There  was  something  inexpressibly  sad  about  the 
singing.  A  dozen  stalwart  Germans,  faces  unshaven, 
unkempt  and  silently  smoking  their  pipes,  clapped  their 
hands  slowly  as  the  young  singer  finished  each  stanza. 
There  seemed  to  be  a  reminiscent  look  in  their  eyes 
which,  while  showing  no  enthusiasm  for  the  singing,  yet 
mutely  appealed  for  more  of  the  song. 

Ich  mocht  als  Reiter  fliegen, 
Wolil  in  die  blut'ge  Schlacht; 

Um  stille  Fcucr  liegen, 
Im  Feld,  in  stiller  Nacht. 


312  THE    PASSPORT 

It  was  the  fourth  stanza  and  from  surrounding 
groups  of  stolid-faced  men  a  score  had  come  to  join 
the  little  circle  of  listeners. 

Hor  ich  eln  Muhlrad  geJien, 
Ich  weiss  nicht  was  ich  will; 

Ich  mocht  am  liebsten  sterben, 
Dann  war's  auf  einmal  still. 

The  singer  sat  down  on  the  ground,  laying  his  zither 
tenderly  alongside  of  him.  Not  a  word  of  approbation, 
not  a  sign  of  applause  was  given  him,  as  he  calmly  lit 
his  pipe  and  remained  quietly  gazing,  blankly  ahead,  as 
the  others  were  gazing — ahead. 

Undoubtedly  each  of  that  group  had  seen  some  com- 
rade left  behind,  maimed  and  yet  alive,  who  also  had 
thought,  and  prayed,  "Ich  mocht  am  liebsten  sterben, 
dann  war's  auf  einmal  still." 

A  short  distance  from  where  they  had  met  with  their 
mishap,  and  as  they  were  going  at  a  good  speed  along 
the  road,  they  were  halted  for  another  passport  in- 
spection. 

The  officer  who  made  the  inspection  this  time  decided 
that  it  would  be  better  to  have  a  pilot  for  the  car,  so 
the  luggage  was  moved  into  the  tonneau  and  a  young 
Hussar  took  his  place  in  the  seat  beside  the  chauffeur. 
This  arrangement  had  its  advantage  in  that  the  pilot 
became  the  living  voucher  for  the  occupants  of  the  au- 
tomobile and  dispensed  with  the  necessity  of  showing 
the  safe-conduct  cards  at  each  new  line  of  sentries. 

At  a  point  half  way  between  Bethel  and  Amagne,  in 
the  Ardennes,  they  crossed  the  Aisne  and  followed  the 
southern  bank  of  the  river  on  the  road  to  Gernay, 
which  they  reached  at  dusk. 


THE   PASSPORT  313 

Two  parley  officers  were  sent  ahead  from  this  point, 
by  the  Colonel  in  command  of  the  division  at  Gernay, 
to  secure  the  passage  of  the  car  through  to  the  ene- 
my's lines  without  danger  and  also  to  request  that  a 
French  car  be  sent  to  meet  the  German  machine. 

The  two  parley  officers  went  under  a  flag  of  truce, 
the  machine  with  the  Americans  being  held,  in  the  mean- 
time, at  Gernay. 

When-  the  truce  messengers  returned,  the  automo- 
bile moved  slowly  and  cautiously  ahead,  a  parley  officer 
on  each  running  board,  one  of  them  holding  a  white 
flag  raised  on  a  long  pole. 

Fifteen  minutes  of  slow  progress  brought  them  to  a 
point  in  the  field  where  they  could  see  another  white 
flag  waving  from  a  pole  some  distance  ahead. 

Warden  was  then  told  to  take  his  satchels  and,  with 
Mary  at  his  side,  the  parley  officers  preceding  them, 
they  walked  to  where  the  other  truce  flag  was  flying 
and,  shortly  after,  were  skimming  the  road  in  a  swift 
Mercedes,  southward  to  Chalons. 

A  young  French  driver,  alert  and  full  of  enthusiasm, 
was  at  the  wheel  and  politely  informed  Warden  that, 
barring  accidents,  "Monsieur  and  Madame  may  expect 
to  be  at  Chalons  in  time  for  supper  at  the  Hotel  des 
Argonnes" 

He  thought  that  there  might  yet  be  a  train  that 
evening  for  Paris  which,  however,  would  not  get  them 
to  the  capital  until  midnight  or  after. 

"It  is  not  a  cheerful  thing  to  reach  Paris  late  at 
night  during  these  bad  times,"  he  volunteered.  "It 
would  be  better  if  Monsieur  should  arrange  to  remain 
at  Chalons  for  the  morning  train." 

The  change  from  the  Prussian  to  the  French  battle 
lines  was  remarkable  in  more  respects  than  one.  War- 


314  THE    PASSPORT 

iden,  viewing  the  situation  as  a  problem  that  he  would 
shortly  be  called  upon  to  aid  in  solving,  was  struck 
principally  by  the  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the 
opposing  forces. 

Having  passed  through  countless  thousands  of  cum- 
bersome, helmeted  Prussian  troops,  the  agile,  energetic, 
enthusiastic  French  soldiery  took  him  by  storm. 

It  was  as  if  he  had  come  from  a  huge  enclosure  of 
unwieldly,  deliberately-moving  bears  and  stepped  into 
a  den  of  leopards  and  cheetahs. 

He  made  the  mental  observation,  after  surveying  the 
French  side  of  the  Death  Line  for  only  a  few  moments, 
that  the  French  troops,  with  their  dash  and  their  con- 
stant worrying  of  the  ponderous  and  lumbering  foe, 
would  eventually  cause  the  great  Prussian  military  ma- 
chine to  wear  out,  bit  by  bit,  as  a  small,  steel  knife- 
blade  can  finally  wear  down  a  mammoth  grindstone. 

They  rode  on  through  the  twilight,  French  chansons 
replacing  the  German  ditties  they  had  heard  before. 
Even  in  their  song  did  the  French  show  the  lighter  vein 
in  their  hearts.  The  chant  of  "Frere  Jacques"  was 
taken  up  by  a  regiment  on  the  march,  as  their  car  came 
to  a  halt  at  a  cross-road.  As  each  succeeding  line  of 
soldiers,  in  their  turn,  took  up  the  refrain,  the  singing 
grew  in  volume  until,  repeated  again  and  again  and 
without  interruption,  by  the  twelve  hundred  men  swing- 
ing down  the  road,  it  seemed  like  a  veritable  wave  of 
song,  now  louder,  now  dimmer,  as  the  regiment  passed 
on  and  the  breeze  blew  its  echoes  back  towards  the 
battle-line. 

"Do  you  know,  Dick,"  said  Mary,  slowly,  laying  a 
hand  on  his  arm,  "that  the  air  seems  better  here  ?  One 
has  the  feeling  of  being  able  to  breathe.  Where — they 
• — are" — she  indicated  the  battle  line  they  had  left 


THE    PASSPORT  315 

behind — "I — always — somehow — oh,  I  think  I  felt 
.  .  .  as  if  there  was  a  pressure — as  if  ...  there  was 
always  .  .  .  something  .  .  .  about  ...  to  ... 
happen." 

"I  felt  that  also,"  he  replied,  thoughtfully.  "I  am 
glad  to  be  out  of  Germany.  I  do  not  want  to  see  any- 
thing of  Germany,  or  of  Germans,  for  a  very,  very  long 
time." 

"But,  Dick— I — am— German!" 

"You  will  be  a  perfectly  good  little  American  by 
this  time  to-morrow,  my  angel,  provided,  of  course,  the 
'Ambassador  makes  no  objection!  And  I  hardly  believe 
he  will!" 


CHAPTER  XXII 

AT  the  Hotel  des  Argonnes  word  had  been  received 
in  advance  of  the  approaching  arrival  of  the  little 
party.  Monsieur  Vitroux,  the  solicitous  host,  called 
Warden  "Monsieur  1'Ambassadeur"  and  nothing  that 
Warden  could  ask  him  brought  forth  an  explanation 
for  the  title.  Monsieur  Vitroux  "had  heard"  that  a 
special  envoy,  an  American,  coming  direct  from  the 
German  Kaiser,  would  arrive  at  his  modest  little  hotel 
and  he  was  very  much  honored  to  have  so  distinguished 
a  personage  housed  under  his  roof,  especially  since  his 
guest  was  a  citizen  of  that  great  Republic  that  stood 
so  close  to  his  own  beloved  country. 

To  Madame  Vitroux  was  delegated  the  task  of  mak- 
ing "la  belle  Americaine"  as  comfortable  as  possible, 
while  Monsieur  Vitroux  would  take  pleasure  in  person- 
ally looking  after  "Monsieur  1'Ambassadeur"  and  to 
see  that  he  received  every  attention  that  the  somewhat 
short-handed  and  very  much  shot-riddled  Hotel  des  Ar- 
gonnes afforded  during  these  troublesome  times. 

Had  Monsieur  seen  the  wonderful  news  of  his  own 
country  in  that  same  morning's  edition  of  the  Paris 
Herald?  No  ?  Well,  it  was  worth  the  reading.  Would 
Monsieur  1'Ambassadeur  deign  to  accept  a  copy  of  the 
paper? 

Warden  took  the  proffered  newspaper.  One  glance 
at  the  headlines  across  the  front  page  caused  him  to 
request  Monsieur  Vitroux  to  get  Mademoiselle  Berwin 
downstairs  at  the  first  possible  moment.  While  the 


THE   PASSPORT  317 

proprietor  hurried  upstairs  to  summon  Mary,  Warden 
again  read  over  the  epitomized  news  contained  in  the 
heavy,  black  type: 

,THE  KAISER'S  ENVOY  AT  WASHINGTON 

.WITHDRAWS  GERMANY'S  ULTIMATUM 

"Wilhelm  evidently  lost  no  time  in  communicating 
with  his  representative  in  America,"  mused  Warden. 

Mary  came  downstairs  a  trifle  anxiously.  The 
eventful  days  through  which  she  had  gone,  naturally 
made  her  a  little  nervous  at  every  sudden  call;  the 
imperative  summons,  delivered  by  Monsieur  Vitroux 
all  the  more  mysteriously  because  of  the  Frenchman's 
vague  conception  of  his  guest's  mission,  did  not  fail  to 
make  the  young  woman  apprehensive. 

Warden's  smiling  face  and  his  eager  manner,  as  he 
advanced  to  meet  her  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  reas- 
sured her  immediately,  however,  and  they  were  soon 
reading  the  Herald's  Washington  dispatch  together. 
The  announcement  contained  in  the  black  headlines  was 
fully  carried  out  in  the  body  of  the  dispatch,  which 
had  this  to  say  on  the  subject: 

WASHINGTON,  Wednesday. — The  State  Department 
gave  out  a  statement,  late  this  afternoon,  to  the  effect 
that  the  German  Ambassador  paid  a  visit  'to  the  De- 
partment and  had  presented  a  note  from  his  govern- 
ment, withdrawing  the  demands  made  in  the  communi- 
cation delivered  on  behalf  of  the  Imperial  German  Gov- 
ernment on  Sunday  last.  No  detail  as  to  reasons  for 
the  withdrawal  of  Germany's  demands,  which,  at  the 
time,  were  considered  preposterous  by  the  Administra- 
tion, is  available.  The  official  statement  merely  said: 


318  THE    PASSPORT 

"The  German  Ambassador  called  on  the 
Secretary  of  State  this  afternoon  and  pre- 
sented another  communication  on  behalf  of 
his  government.  The  communication  declared 
that,  through  a  misapprehension  as  to  the  real 
state  of  affairs,  the  German  Government  had 
made  certain  demands  upon  the  Government 
of  the  United  States.  The  German  Govern- 
ment now  desired  to  withdraw  these  demands 
in  their  entirety.  The  meeting  of  the  Ger- 
man Ambassador  and  the  Secretary  of  State 
was  of  the  utmost  cordiality." 

Officials  of  the  State  Department  would  not  consent 
to  be  interviewed  regarding  the  unexpected  turn  affairs 
have  taken.  The  Secretary  of  State  denied  himself  to 
all  callers  after  the  departure  of  the  Kaiser's  envoy. 
Word  was  sent  out  to  the  waiting  correspondents  that 
nothing  could  be  added  to  the  official  statement  as  given 
out  by  the  Department. 

There  was  unusual  activity  in  the  German  Embassy 
earlier  in  the  afternoon,  as  well  as  an  air  of  mystery 
that  seemed  to  permeate  throughout  the  building  and 
to  affect  all  the  attaches  of  the  Embassy. 

«/ 

Shortly  after  five  o'clock  the  Ambassador  emerged, 
entered  a  waiting  motor  car  and  was  driven  at  once  to 
the  State  Department.  His  visit  had  evidently  been 
arranged  beforehand,  for  the  envoy  was  immediately 
ushered  into  the  office  of  the  Secretary,  with  whom  he 
remained  closeted  for  an  hour.  There  was  a  pleased 
expression  on  the  face  of  the  German  representative 
when  he  quit  the  State  Department  and  the  Secretary 
of  State,  too,  was  smiling  broadly.  When  asked  whether 
he  had  anything  to  say  for  publication,  the  Ambassador 
smilingly  referred  his  questioners  to  the  State  De- 
partment. 

"Any  statement  must  come  from  your  Secretary  of 


THE    PASSPORT  319 

State,"  said  the  Count.  Then,  as  an  afterthought,  he 
added:  "I  am  very  sure  that  he  will  be  glad  to  make 
a  statement." 

In  view  of  the  past  performances  of  the  German 
'Ambassador,  in  suggesting  what  action  should  be  taken 
by  the  American  Government  in  managing  its  own  af- 
fairs, this  suggestion  was  taken  as  another  unfortunate 
"break"  on  the  part  of  the  envoy.  The  official  state- 
ment given  out  by  the  State  Department,  however, 
showed  that,  in  this  instance  at  least,  the  German  Am- 
bassador's words  had  no  unfriendly  implication. 

Simultaneously  with  the  news  of  the  withdrawal  of 
the  German  demands,  it  became  known  in  Washington 
official  circles  to-day  that  an  American  made  a  mys- 
terious visit  to  Germany  within  the  past  week,  follow- 
ing a  visit  that  he  made  to  the  Foreign  Office  in  Lon- 
don. According  to  the  report,  which  is  given  credence 
by  those  in  a  position  to  know,  this  American  has 
travelled  through  Germany  on  an  Imperial  pass  and  is 
to-day  either  in  Paris  or  expected  there  momentarily. 
No  clew  to  the  identity  of  the  American,  nor  to  the 
object  of  his  journey,  has  been  vouchsafed  by  those 
who  claim  to  know  that  the  report  is  authentic.  It  is 
generally  agreed,  however,  that  the  mysterious  trav- 
eller's visit  to  Germany  and  the  withdrawal  to-day  of 
the  German  communication  of  last  Sunday  is  more  than 
a  mere  coincidence. 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  that?"  Warden  asked, 
his  face  showing  the  satisfaction  that  he  felt. 

"It  is  splendid  news,  my  Mysterious  American,  and 
I  am,  oh,  so  proud  of  you !"  Mary  clasped  his  hands 
in  her  own  and  looked  at  him  with  admiration  and  de- 
votion. 

"Here  is  more  news  from  home !"  he  exclaimed,  as 
he  turned  the  page  and  spread  before  them  that  section 


320  tTHE    PASSPORT 

of  the  paper  given  over  to  dispatches  from  New  York. 
"Listen!"  he  said: 


ATTEMPT  TO  SINK  "AUTANIA" 

THWARTED;  SUBMARINE  CAPTURED 


CENSOR    HOLDS    NEWS    NEARLY    A    WEEK 

Passenger  on  Cunard  Vessel  Goes  on  Board  German 
Undersea  Boat  and  Returns  with  Com- 
mander and  Crew  Unconscious 


NEW  YORK,  Wednesday. — Cables  received  here  to-day 
by  friends  of  passengers  who  left  New  York  on  the 
Autania  a  week  ago  last  Saturday  report  that,  on 
Friday  last,  when  the  mammoth  Cunarder  was  nearing 
the  Irish  coast,  she  was  hailed  and  stopped  by  a  Ger- 
man submarine.  No  attempt  was  made  to  torpedo  the 
vessel  unawares  and  drown  the  large  number  of  pas- 
sengers, as  was  done  in  the  case  of  the  Lusitania  re- 
cently. Preparations  were  being  made  to  lower  the 
boats  and  leave  the  great  liner  to  her  fate,  following  a 
visit  from  the  submarine's  commander,  when  a  young 
man,  a  passenger  on  the  Autania,  who  had  been  seen 
to  leave  the  side  of  the  liner  on  the  submarine,  signalled 
for  one  of  the  Autania's  lifeboats.  The  submarine  was 
taken  in  tow  and  delivered  to  a  British  destroyer,  after 
the  Autania's  lifeboat  had  returned  from  the  submarine, 
bringing  back  the  passenger  and  also  the  commander 
and  the  crew  of  the  undersea  craft,  the  Germans  all  in 
an  unconscious  state.  The  passenger's  name  was  Rich- 
ard Warden,  of  New  York.  He  was  the  hero  of  the 
hour  upon  his  return  in  safety  with  the  enemy  crew  as 
prisoners.  None  of  the  Autania's  passengers  were  able 


THE    PASSPORT  821 

to  learn  How  tHe  capture  was  effected.     It  is  believed 
that 

"Dick!"  exclaimed  Mary,  interrupting  his  reading, 
"you'll  be  famous  long  before  you  get  back  to  New 
York!" 

He  smiled,  reminiscently. 

"There  is  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction  in  being  able 
to  accomplish  what  you  set  out  to  do,  my  sweet  girl," 
he  said,  fondly.  "If  I  can  only  accomplish  the  final, 
and  the  greatest  stroke,  end  this  cruel,  merciless  war 
and  also  make  war  in  the  future  impossible,  I  shall  be 
the  happiest  man  in  the  world." 

"So,"  pouted  Mary,  "in  your  case  it  won't  make  you 
the  happiest  man  in  the  world  to  get  me,  will  it?" 

"That  great  happiness  has  already  been  given  me, 
has  it  not?  Are  not  you  going  to  be  Mrs.  Richard 
Warden  to-morrow?" 

"You  have  not  asked  me  a  thing  about  it !"  declared 
Mary,  reproachfully. 

"Very  well,  then,"  Warden  replied,  laughing,  as  he 
took  her  in  his  arms.  "Will  you  be  my  wife,  my  dar- 
ling?" He  smothered  her  with  kisses  before  she  could 
reply. 

"Y-y-e-s-s,"  came  in  a  little,  muffled  scream.  Then, 
"Sh !  Look  out !"  And  Mary  struggled  to  free  herself 
from  his  embrace.  "You  shouldn't,  Dick!" 

"But  you  just  insisted  that  I  should!" 

"No,  I  did  not,  either !"  Mary  composed  herself  and 
looked  at  him  in  pretended  anger.  At  the  same  time 
she  shot  a  quick,  sly  glance  toward  the  head  of  the 
stairs. 

Warden  followed  her  gaze  and  saw  Monsieur  Vitroux 
and  Madame  Vitroux  standing  in  the  shadow  of  the 
upper  hallway.  Vitroux,  jpere  et  mere,  were  part  of 


322  THE    PASSPORT 

that  world  that  loves  a  lover  and  they  plainly  showed 
their  approbation  of  the  little  romance  that  was,  so 
quite  apparently,  being  helped  along  the  road  to  Para- 
dise under  their  hospitable  roof. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

AT  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  following  'day, 
a  magnificent  basket  of  American  Beauties  was  de- 
livered at  the  Ritz,  in  Paris,  addressed  to  Mrs.  Richard 
Warden.  Radiant  with  happiness,  Mary  found  the 
beautiful  floral  gift  in  their  suite  when  Richard  escorted 
her  to  the  hotel  on  the  return  from  the  American 
Embassy.  She  was  all  the  happier  when  she  discov- 
ered a  card,  accompanying  the  roses,  announcing  that 
the  basket  had  been  sent  from  the  Embassy  "by  direc- 
tion of  the  President  of  the  United  States." 

Her  husband  having  an  important  engagement  with 
the  French  Foreign  Office,  Mary  prepared  to  spend 
the  remainder  of  the  day  quietly  in  her  apartments, 
thinking  over  her  happiness  and  going  over  a  list  of 
necessities,  which  had  grown  in  proportion  with  the 
hardships  that  she  had  been  forced  to  undergo  since  her 
hurried  departure  from  London. 

The  French  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  received 
Warden  with  effusive  cordiality.  There  was  none  of  the 
cold  formality  about  this  department  of  the  French 
government  that  characterized  the  same  branch  of  the 
government  in  London. 

The  interview  had  not  proceeded  very  far  before 
Warden  made  mental  note  that  the  French  to-day  were 
quite  a  different  people  from  the  French  he  had  read 
about — the  French  of  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  combination  of  the  French  and  the  Brit- 
ish should  be  irresistible,  he  thought.  The  former  for  a 


324  THE    PASSPORT 

quick  clasK,  executed  witH  lightning  energy  and  the  lat- 
ter to  support  it  with  bulldog  tenacity. 

"We  have  been  expecting  you,"  said  the  Minister. 
"The  General  Staffs  of  both  the  French  and  British 
forces  will  be  here  shortly  and  we  will  then  go  over  the 
plans  that  you  mentioned  to  our  good  friend,  Sir  Wil- 
liam Purcell,  upon  the  occasion  of  your  visit  to  the 
British  Foreign  Office.  If  your  plans  are  found  to  be 
practicable,  the  French  government  stands  ready  to 
join  with  Great  Britain  in  accepting  them.  I  am  sure 
that  Russia  also  will  gladly  enter  into  the  agreement 
with  you." 

"It  will  be  quite  sufficient  for  France  and  Great 
Britain  to  use  my  discovery,  your  Excellency,"  Warden 
replied.  "If  Germany  is  subdued  on  her  western  front, 
her  eastern  front  will  take  care  of  itself  immediately." 

"But  why  do  you  object  to  Russia  profiting  by  the 
plans  that  you  have  in  mind?" 

"I  do  not  in  the  least  object  to  that,  your  Excel- 
lency." 

"Still,  you  refuse  to  allow  Russia  to  use  your  dis- 
covery ?" 

"I  do.  Not,  understand  me,  please,  because  I  do  not 
favor  the  Russians  in  the  present  struggle,  but  because 
I  value  the  saving  of  human  life,  be  that  of  whatever 
nationality,  more.  I  admire  the  Russian  officers,  but 
they  would  be  helpless  to  restrain  the  hordes  of  Cos- 
sacks from  overrunning  the  Eastern  German  territory 
and  taking  advantage  of  the  absolute  helplessness  my 
discovery  would  have  sent  over  the  Germans  whom  they 
oppose.  The  French  and  British  troops  may  be 
counted  upon  to  perpetrate  no  excesses.  The  Cossacks 
cannot  be  counted  upon  for  such  moderation.  I  do  not 
stand  as  a  pleader  for  the  German  cause,  far  from  it, 


THE    PASSPORT  325 

but  I  would  like  to  see  fair  play  done  by  the  two  great 
nations  that  are  to-day  representative  of  civilization  in 
Europe,  in  contradistinction  to  the  savagery  and  un- 
fairness of  the  German  methods." 

"How  soon,  do  you  think,  we  could  begin  putting 
your  plans  into  execution?'* 

"As  soon  as  you  designate  the  place  where  I  am  to 
fill  the  shells  that  are  to  be  used." 

"It  will  not  take  long  to  turn  them  out,  then?" 

"If  you  have  the  shells  ready,  I  can  give  them  back 
to  you,  loaded,  in  twenty-four  hours,  at  the  rate  of 
three  or  four  hundred  a  day.  Two  days'  supplies  will 
be  all  that  is  necessary  to  accomplish  our  object  on 
the  western  front." 

The  Minister  was  evidently  greatly  impressed  by 
Warden's  calm  confidence.  He  arose  and  moved  about 
his  office  several  times  in  an  effort  to  subdue  the  ex- 
citement that  he  felt  and  which  he  desired  to  suppress 
all  the  more  because  of  his  visitor's  composure. 

Just  then  a  clerk  entered  the  room  and  announced 
that  Sir  Malcomb  Premble  and  General  Jaspere  were 
awaiting  an  audience  with  his  Excellency,  the  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs. 

The  Minister  ordered  the  two  distinguished  soldiers 
to  be  shown  in  at  once. 

A  moment  later  there  entered,  in  full  uniform,  a  tall 
man  with  keen,  penetrating  eyes,  cold  as  steel  but  with 
lines  around  them  that  spoke  for  justice  and  human 
forbearance. 

At  his  side  walked  another,  also  in  full  uniform,  a 
trifle  shorter  and  stockier  built,  with  kindly,  friendly 
eyes  shining  forth  from  a  face  in  which  determination 
was  as  ruggedly  portrayed  as  in  that  of  his  com- 
panion. 


326  THE    PASSPORT 

Both  saluted  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  who 
greeted  them  warmly  with  a  hearty  handshake.  War- 
den was  being  introduced  to  both  the  soldiers  when  an- 
other entered  the  room,  unannounced.  He  was  the 
Minister  of  War  of  France,  a  man  of  commanding  ap- 
pearance and  demeanor.  A  little  later  the  five  men 
were  sitting  around  a  long  table  in  an  anteroom — four 
men,  matured  in  the  affairs  of  state,  and  a  youth. 

The  Brobdingnaigan  had  come  to  the  rescue  of  a 
ravaged  people. 

Richard  Warden  had  taken  his  place  in  the  Council 
that  was  destined  to  end  a  monstrous  and  inhuman 
struggle. 

On  the  table  there  lay,  spread  out,  a  war  map.  It 
was  not  the  usual  map,  showing  towns  and  cities  and 
with  battle  lines  as  the  journalistic  critics  concluded  the 
battle  lines  should  be,  but  a  ground  plan  of  the  actual 
fighting,  showing  hills  and  declivities,  trenches  and  ob- 
structions, trees — where  these  formed  an  integral  part 
of  the  battle  scheme — buildings  and  creeks. 

"As  I  understand  it,"  began  General  Premble,  ad- 
dressing Warden,  "you  can  overcome  a  certain  num- 
ber of  persons  by  means  of  an  asphyxiating  bomb 
which  does  not,  however,  kill?" 

"That  is  quite  right,  General,"  replied  Warden. 

"Over  how  large  an  area  can  you  spread  the  fumes 
from  your  bomb,  with  a  single  application,  for  in- 
stance ?" 

"I  have  calculated  that,  with  a  single  shell  or  bomb 
of  suitable  size,  I  could  control  an  area  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  square." 

"There  would  be  nothing  to  prevent  the  enemy  from 
bringing  up  plenty  of  reinforcements  so  as  to  make  it 
impossible  for  us  to  make  prisoners  of  those  who  are 


THE    PASSPORT  327 

supposed  to  have  been  overcome  by  your  fumes,"  ar- 
gued the  Britisher.  "We  would,  also,  have  to  project 
your  bombs  along  a  considerable  front  in  order  to 
make  them  effective.  Here" — he  placed  a  finger  on  a 
portion  of  the  map — "we  have  a  stretch  of  fifteen  miles 
of  infantry,  supported  from  the  rear  by  artillery.  On 
either  side  of  the  stretch  a  hill  cuts  off  this  fifteen 
mile  front  from  the  main  battle  line.  According  to 
your  calculations,  we  would  have  to  project  your  fume 
bombs  from  points  not  further  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
apart,  making  nearly  sixty  points  of  projection  on  this 
stretch  alone.  Granting  that  we  overcome  all  of  the 
enemy's  infantry  and  cavalry  along  this  fifteen  mile 
front,  they  will  keep  on  sending  reinforcements  from 
their  rear  and,  in  the  meantime,  the  first  troops  will 
have  recovered." 

The  Frenchmen  were  eager  listeners  as  the  British 
commander  argued  and  they  awaited  Warden's  reply 
with  tense  interest. 

"In  the  first  place,  General,"  he  said,  "the  fumes 
will  hold  those  whom  we  shall  first  overcome  for  at 
least  four  hours.  The  fumes  lose  their  power  to  as- 
phyxiate after  ten  minutes.  But  those  once  overcome 
remain  overcome  for  four  hours  at  least.  Immediate 
reinforcements  will,  therefore,  come  into  the  fumes 
when  they  still  have  power  to  overcome.  Later  rein- 
forcements, that  is,  those  coming  after  ten  minutes 
shall  have  elapsed,  will  need  another  projection  of  the 
shells  or  bombs.  On  our  side,  the  men  will  have  a  pro- 
tective mask  to  prevent  their  being  affected  by  the 
fumes.  The  liquid  to  be  poured  on  the  gauze  of  these 
masks  can  be  provided  in  unlimited  quantities  on  very 
short  notice.  If,  after  overcoming  a  certain  area,  you 
immediately  proceed  on  another  section  of  the  battle- 


828  THE    PASSPORT 

front,  your  men  in  the  first  section  can  begin  at  once 
the  bringing  in  of  prisoners  and  gathering  up  their 
equipment.  Undoubtedly  you  can  reach  some  of  the 
more  distant  artillery  of  the  enemy  with  fume  bombs. 
1When  you  have  reached  one  of  the  enemy's  big  guns 
you  know  that  gun  is  silenced  for  four  hours  at  least. 
I  would  suggest  the  co-operation  of  the  aviation  corps, 
who  can  assist  materially  in  dropping  the  fume  bombs 
on  the  rear  positions  of  the  enemy." 

The  French  War  Minister  asked  after  the  experi- 
ments that  the  American  had  made  and  Warden  had  an 
attentive  audience  as  he  related  his  experiences  with 
the  street-mob  in  New  York  and  the  subjugation  of  the 
German  conspirators  on  the  New  Jersey  sand  dunes. 

The  story  of  his  capture  of  the  German  submarine 
as  it  was  about  to  torpedo  the  Autania,  brought  the 
first  expression  of  enthusiasm  from  the  stern  mouth  of 
the  British  commander  and  when  Warden  told  of  saving 
the  lives  of  the  three  German  women  in  the  court-yard 
at  Cleve  the  three  Frenchmen  could  not  restrain  a 
"Bravo"  and,  by  jumping  to  their  feet  and  slapping 
Warden  on  the  shoulder  approvingly,  showing  their  ap- 
preciation of  the  young  American's  scientific  accom- 
plishment. 

It  was  decided  that  the  manufacture  of  the  fume 
bombs  should  begin  at  once.  Also,  that  Warden's  work- 
shop would  be  an  atelier  at  Bois-le-Roi,  a  suburb  of 
Paris,  where  the  danger  of  a  visit  from  German  Zeppe- 
lins would  be  minimized.  There,  the  young  scientist 
was  to  prepare  his  chemicals  and  load  the  shells  and 
bombs  that  were  to  be  furnished  by  the  French  War 
Office.  For  the  loading  of  the  containers  he  requested 
the  assistance  of  three  or  four  men  of  average  intelli- 


THE    PASSPORT  829 

gence.  Expert  workmanship  was  not  required  for  this 
task,  he  said.  He  himself  would  prepare  the  chemicals, 
for  the  secret  of  the  fumes  was  not  to  be  divulged. 
Special  containers  would  at  once  be  ordered  for  use 
by  the  aviators  and  the  War  Minister,  in  whose  control 
the  preparation  of  the  new  projectiles  now  passed, 
promised  that  Warden  would  have  the  necessary  equip- 
ment within  three  days  at  the  most.  In  the  meantime, 
the  young  scientist  could  secure  the  needed  chemicals 
on  requisitions  to  be  furnished  by  the  War  Office. 

After  giving  the  Minister  of  War  a  list  of  the  chem-     S 
icals  he  desired,  which  he  purposely  disguisjhejd  by  in- 
cluding a  number  of  ingredients  which  did  not  enter 
into  the  composition  of  his  formula  at  all,  Warden  left 
the  Foreign  Office  to  join  Mary  at  the  Ritz. 

When  he  reached  his  apartments  he  found  her  enter- 
taining the  American  Ambassador  and  the  Ambassa- 
dor's wife. 

"We  came  here  to  personally  felicitate  you  upon  the 
result  of  your  work  in  America,"  said  the  American 
representative,  genially.  "From  the  dispatches  pub- 
lished this  morning,  I  find  that  the  internal  problem  in 
our  country  has  been  disposed  of  without  a  general 
unpleasantness  or  upheaval,  as  had  been  feared.  You 
will  see  that  the  matter  of  armed  groups  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  United  States  has  been  settled  by  a 
new  Federal  statute  which  makes  it  a  serious  offense 
to  store  arms  or  equipment  of  any  kind  without  a  spe- 
cial license  from  the  government  and,  as  for  the  sub- 
marine depots  that  you  unearthed,  in  your  pursuit  of 
the  German  conspirators,  they  have  been  destroyed. 
The  German-American  element  seems  to  have  quieted 
down  and  it  looks  to  me  as  if  that  insidious  plan  to  fo- 


330  THE    PASSPORT 

ment  civil  strife  was  successfully  nipped  in  the  bud. 
You  have  every  reason  to  feel  proud  of  what  you  have 
done  for  your  country." 

Mary's  happiness  at  the  fame  that  was  being  be- 
stowed upon  her  husband  was  tempered  only  by  the 
thought  that,  over  her  own  young  life,  a  blight  had 
come.  With  her  father  in  prison,  a  felon  in  the  eyes 
of  the  government  and  of  the  country  that  now  was 
hers  as  well  as  Richard's,  there  threatened  always  to  be 
a  shadow  on  her  future.  A  sadness  that  overspread 
her  sweet  face  at  certain  times,  spoke  plainly  of  the 
anguish  gnawing  at  her  heart  because  of  the  unfortun- 
ate predicament  of  her  father.  True,  his  offense  was  a 
political,  not  a  criminal  one,  but  that  did  not  take 
away  the  disgrace  that  comes  with  imprisonment. 

The  Ambasador  saw  this  momentary  sadness  come 
over  the  beautiful  young  woman  and,  divining  the  cause, 
thought  the  psychological  time  had  come  for  him  to 
present  the  message  which  had,  in  reality,  been  the 
primary  object  of  his  and  his  wife's  visit.  Turning  to 
Mary,  he  said: 

"We  are  also  bearers  of  a  little  gift  for  Mrs.  War- 
den. The  President  has  seen  fit,  in  the  circumstances, 
to  grant  a  pardon  to  her  father.  The  offense  with 
which  he  stood  charged  was  a  purely  political  one,  com- 
mitted through  a  misguided  conception  of  what  consti- 
tuted patriotism.  While  the  harm  that  might  have  been 
done  to  the  United  States,  had  his  plans  not  miscarried, 
has  not  been  underestimated,  the  President  considers 
that  the  offense  committed  by  the  father  was,  to  a  large 
extent,  offset  by  the  act  of  his  daughter,  who  volunta- 
rily furnished  the  first  clew  that  led  to  the  breaking 
up  of  the  conspiracy  against  the  authority  of  the 


THE    PASSPORT  331 

United  States.  In  view  of  the  aid  she  has  given  the 
government  and  the  inestimable  value  of  the  work  done 
by  Mr.  Warden,  who  is  interested  in  her,  the  President 
has  directed  me  to  notify  you  both  that  Mr.  Berwin  has 
been  pardoned,  upon  his  promise  never  again  to  con- 
spire against  the  country  of  his  adoption." 

With  tears  streaming  down  her  face,  Mary  moved 
over  toward  the  Ambassador  and  took  both  his  hands 
in  her  own. 

"I  thank  you,  and  our  dear  President  through  you, 
from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,"  she  said.  Then,  turning 
to  the  Ambassador's  wife,  she  placed  her  arms  about 
that  lady's  neck,  kissed  her  and  cried  softly  on  her 
shoulder.  The  elder  woman,  comforting  her,  led  her 
gently  to  where  Warden  stood  and,  with  motherly  ten- 
derness, placed  Mary's  arms  about  the  neck  of  her 
young  husband. 

"Go  to  him  in  your  happiness,  my  child,"  she  said, 
kindly.  "He  is  worthy  of  you  and  you  are  worthy  of 
him.  Go  through  your  life  as  self-sacrificingly  and 
with  as  much  sympathy  for  others  as  you  have  started 
it.  It  has  been  a  beautiful  beginning." 

For  some  moments  there  was  no  sound  in  the  room 
except  the  soft  sobbing  of  the  young  wife  on  her  hus- 
band's shoulder.  He  held  her  tenderly  and  there  were 
tears  in  his  eyes,  too,  as  there  were,  in  fact,  in  the  eyes 
of  both  the  Ambassador  and  his  wife. 

Then  Mary  composed  herself  and  smiled  through  the 
last,  truant  tears  that  welled  as  the  rear  guard  of  her 
pent-up  emotions. 

"I  shall  never  need  to  lower  my  eyes  to  anyone,  now, 
will  I,  Dick  dear?"  she  asked,  looking  up  at  him.  "It 
is  as  if  everything  has  been  made  right  and" — she 


832  THE    PASSPORT 

turned  to  the  Ambassador  and  his  wife — "and  Heaven 
has,  indeed,  been  kind  to  me  to  give  me  such  a  hus- 
band." 

Mary  declared  that,  while  her  husband  was  busy  with 
his  chemical  work  at  Bois-le-Roi,  she  would  do  her 
share  in  the  Paris  hospitals  at  whatever  task  the  Amer- 
ican Red  Cross  would  assign  her  to.  As  Warden 
thought  that  they  would  probably  be  kept  in  Europe 
for  at  least  another  fortnight — by  which  time  he  fully 
expected  his  discovery  to  have  proven  its  efficiency  in 
the  cause  of  Peace — a  message  was  sent  to  Mary's 
mother  in  London,  telling  her  to  return  to  New  York 
and  rejoin  Mr.  Berwin. 

Her  daughter  and  son-in-law,  she  was  advised,  would 
return  to  the  United  States  by  the  steamship  France, 
when  that  splendid  floating  palace  should  make  her  first 
westward  voyage  following  the  close  of  the  Last  War. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

IT  was  a  frizzly,  miserable  morning  five  days  later 
that  Warden  stood  on  a  hill  near  Lassigny.  Near  him 
stood  a  group  of  French  and  British  officers  and  one 
from  the  Belgian  army.  The  attitude  of  each  man 
was  one  of  tense  interest,  for  momentous  things  were 
about  to  happen — or  expected  to  happen. 

A  big  gun  five  miles  away  was  barking  at  regular 
intervals ;  and  at  every  bark  there  came  an  explosion 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  they  stood. 

Directly  underneath  where  the  explosion  occurred 
men  scrambled  to  their  feet,  to  fall  again,  their  arms 
across  their  faces>  as  if  to  shut  out  the  blinding  flare 
that  destroyed  their  eyes,  just  as  the  deafening  roar 
^destroyed  their  ears  and  the  contents  of  the  bursting 
shells  their  poor,  scarred  bodies. 

The  gunners  of  the  enemy,  it  had  been  calculated, 
had  orders  to  fire  the  gun  at  minute  intervals,  for  one 
hour,  and  they  set  off  the  charge  promptly  at  the  expi- 
ration of  every  sixty  seconds,  knowing  not  what  toll 
they  took,  nor  did  they  probably  care,  as  long  as  they 
obeyed  their  orders. 

Other  big  guns  barked  likewise,  sending  their  shells 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill  where  they  stood. 

It  was  a  human  butchery  done  on  a  minute-headway 
system  and  the  figures  crouching  in  the  enemy  trenches 
less  than  fifty  yards  away  were  only  waiting  for  the  big 
guns  behind  them  to  do  the  principal  damage  before 


334  THE    PASSPORT 

they,  too,  should  enter  the  fray  and  continue  or — 
Gott  mit  uns — complete  the  killing. 

From  the  men  on  his  own  side  of  the  battle-ground 
Warden  saw  no  answering  fire.  There  was  an  ominous 
silence  and  reserve  among  the  allied  troops. 

Hiding  under  their  bomb-proof  sheds  in  the  trenches, 
they  avoided  the  blast  of  the  enemy  shells,  leaving  only 
those  with  the  heavy  guns  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
German  artillery. 

Suddenly  a  signal  was  sent  up  some  fifty  feet  away 
down  the  line. 

A  slim  pole,  with  a  little  red  ball  at  the  top,  had  been 
raised  so  that  it  could  be  plainly  seen  by  the  line  of 
soldiers  lying  flat  on  their  bellies  midway  between  the 
French  artillery  and  the  French  trenches. 

In  front  of  each  man  of  that  line  there  was  a  peculiar 
contrivance  resembling  a  small  mortar  and  the  guar- 
dian of  each  mortar  kept  his  eyes  on  the  little  red  ball 
at  the  top  of  the  slim  pole. 

At  regular  intervals  the  big  gun  of  the  Germans  sent 
a  shell  over  the  French  positions  and  Warden  could 
realize,  for  the  first  time,  why  the  fighters  went  mad 
from  the  continuous  flare  and  detonation,  even  though 
they  escaped  the  steel  splinters  that  scatters  them- 
selves through  the  ranks  of  the  defenders. 

Then,  as  suddenly  as  it  had  gone  up,  the  little  red 
ball  dropped ;  and,  simultaneously,  thirty  or  more  chem- 
ical bombs  were  catapulted  from  as  many  of  the  mor- 
tars. 

It  seemed  to  Warden,  surveying  the  scene  through 
his  glasses,  that  the  firing  from  the  enemy's  artillery 
far  in  the  rear  became  heavier  and  more  insistent  as 
the  mortars  sent  forth  their  missiles  toward  the  nearby 
enemy  trenches.  There  was  no  sign  of  life  around  the 


THE    PASSPORT  335 

dug-outs  of  the  Germans  after  the  bombs  had  exploded 
over  them. 

Then  a  roar,  as  of  distant  thunder,  came  from  the 
enemy's  rear. 

Warden  saw  a  cloud  moving  over  the  ground  on  the 
other  side  of  the  battle-field.  The  cloud  became  a  dense 
mass  of  humanity  and  he  saw  an  onrushing  horde,  in 
close  formation  and  with  bayonets  fixed,  fairly  envel- 
oping the  terrain  as  far  as  he  could  see. 

Again  the  "mortars"  spoke  and  the  advancing  Ger- 
mans, with  their  fixed  bayonets,  fell  forward  on  their 
faces,  as  shells  from  their  own  artillery  whistled  over 
their  heads  in  the  direction  of  the  French  forces. 

A  great  explosion  from  somewhere  in  the  rear  of 
where  he  was  standing  caused  him  to  turn.  For  a  mo- 
ment he  thought  that  the  enemy  had  executed  a  flank 
movement  and  were  coming  up  the  hill  on  the  oppo- 
site side,  cutting  off  the  French  retreat. 

It  was  his  first  time  under  fire  and  it  took  him  a  min- 
ute or  two  to  locate  the  source  of  the  detonation  he 
had  heard  and  to  realize  that  it  had  come  from  one  of 
the  heavier  French  guns,  discharging  a  big  chemical 
bomb  at  the  distant  enemy  artillery. 

There  was  no  reply  from  the  "barker"  across  the 
five-mile  stretch — a  stretch  filled  with  men,  horses  and 
guns — that  he  had  noticed  at  first,  firing  at  minute 
intervals. 

Two,  three,  four  minutes  elapsed. 

Again  the  heavy  field  piece  behind  him  sent  forth  a 
shell  filled  with  the  chemical. 

Another  of  the  great  "barkers"  on  the  ridge  beyond 
became  silent. 

Within  ten  minutes  the  enemy's  artillery  on  that 
particular  front  had  been  silenced  completely. 


336  THE    PASSPORT 

Over  the  field,  in  all  directions,  there  were  now  only 
prostrate  bodies  of  men  and  horses,  with  bits  of  smoke 
rising  here  and  there  where  an  exploding  shell  had  set 
an  artillery  carriage  or  a  pile  of  ammunition  boxes 
afire.  Barrels  of  pitch,  too,  used  by  the  Germans  in 
the  primevally  barbaric  warfare  that  they  now  were 
waging,  were  set  afire  by  the  shells  and  burned,  horri- 
bly, those  who  had  intended  using  the  scalding  fluid  on 
their  opponents. 

Not  being  a  militarist,  he  wondered  why  the  French 
did  not  sally  forth  to  take  their  prisoners.  Surely, 
there  could  be  no  hesitancy  because  of  the  fumes  for, 
even  had  not  the  French  soldiers  been  provided  with 
the  face  masks,  the  fumes  would  not,  by  this  time,  have 
harmed  them. 

He  was  on  the  point  of  asking  one  of  the  French  offi- 
cers at  his  elbow  the  reason  for  the  delay,  when  the 
reason  became  self-evident. 

From  the  southwest  a  movement  over  the  far  hills 
developed  into  a  vast,  rolling  mass  of  humanity. 

He  could  dimly  see  artillery  being  rushed  across  the 
chasm  between  the  French  and  the  German  positions 
and  he  averted  his  face  as  he  suddenly  became  aware 
that  this  swiftly-moving  procession  of  heavy  cannon, 
drawn  by  great,  plunging  horses,  lashed  to  their  utmost 
exertion  by  the  short,  heavy  whips  of  their  drivers,  was 
being  driven  rough-shod  over  the  bodies  of  the  poor 
devils  who  lay,  unconscious  but  alive,  flat  on  tfce 
ground. 

It  was  a  horrible  sight  and  it  sickened  him. 

When  the  reinforcements  came,  apparently,  within 
range,  the  field-piece  behind  him  "spoke"  again. 

A  shell  burst  directly  over  the  heads  of  the  van- 
guard of  the  advancing  artillery  and  hundreds  of 


THE    PASSPORT  837 

horses,  their  drivers  and  the  artillerymen,  together  with 
hundreds  of  infantrymen,  crumpled  up  in  one,  huge,  in- 
animate mass,  forming  a  barrier  which  halted,  for  the 
time  being,  the  army  that  brought  up  the  rear. 

The  heavy  artillery  of  the  French  then  began  its 
pitiless  task,  having  secured  the  range  of  the  enemy's 
reinforcements. 

The  Germans  who  had  been  halted  by  the  disaster  to 
their  field  artillery  wavered  for  an  instant  only.  Noth- 
ing could  withstand  that  rain  of  death-dealing  shells, 
however,  especially  since  their  own  artillery  was,  appa- 
rently, making  no  attempt  to  silence  that  murderous 
fire  from  the  French  hills. 

Warden  saw  that  gigantic  body  move  back  whence 
it  came,  broken  now  and  then  in  its  ranks  as  shells 
dropped  among  them,  moving  faster  and  faster,  in  re- 
treat, as  the  fire  from  the  big  French  guns  kept  pour- 
ing the  shrapnel  into  what  had  been  their  front  ranks 
but  which  was  now  their  rear. 

The  order  to  advance,  bugled  along  the  line,  brought 
instant  action  out  of  the  French  trenches. 

The  agile  Frenchmen  swept  over  the  ground  like 
wolves  but  behaved  like  the  human  beings  that  they 
were.  They  gathered  up  the  equipment  of  their  fallen 
foes,  piling  it  in  great  heaps,  while  wagons  that  had 
followed  in  their  train  received  their  loads  of  inert  hu- 
manity, disarmed  and  helpless. 

For  an  hour  Warden  watched. 

He  saw  the  carts  move  slowly  over  the  battle  field, 
some  loaded  with  guns,  knapsacks,  sabres,  helmets  and 
other  equipment ;  others  with  their  human  freight  hur- 
rying back  to  the  bases  so  as  to  return  for  more  of  the 
helpless  prisoners  without  delay. 

Heavy  firing  could  be  heard  both  to  the  North  and 


338  THE    PASSPORT 

to  the  South  of  his  own  position.  Now  and  then  mes- 
sengers, detached  from  the  chasseurs,  came  galloping 
up  with  field  dispatches  from  points  where  the  field-tel- 
ephone service  had  been  interrupted.  Then  they  would 
gallop  off  again  with  dispatches  for  various  nearby 
commanding  officers. 

The  French  lines  were  now  so  well  advanced  over  the 
terrain  formerly  held  by  the  Germans  that  they  reached 
nearly  to  the  ridge  where  the  German  heavy  artillery 
had  their  positions.  So  far,  however,  there  had  been 
no  resumption  of  firing  from  that  direction. 

When  half  a  mile  had  been  gained,  chemical  bombs 
were  directed  to  the  enemy's  hidden  positions  behind 
the  ridge  and  the  French  troops  advanced  cautiously, 
gathering  up  their  prisoners  and  sending  these  back  to 
the  rear  of  their  own  lines. 

Some  of  the  carts  passed  along  a  beaten  path  around 
the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  he  stood  and  Warden  could 
see  the  faces  of  the  unconscious  Prussians,  peaceful  and 
without  the  usual  battle-agony,  appearing  sound  asleep 
as,  indeed,  they  were. 

"C'est  blen!"  commented  one  of  the  officers,  who  had 
been  observing  the  effect  of  the  chemical  application 
over  the  enemy's  positions,  as  he  nodded  smilingly  at 
Warden.  The  officer  invited  Warden  to  accompany 
him  and  the  other  observers  to  a  different  position, 
from  which  they  could  determine  how  the  enemy  on  that 
front  was  taking  the  novel  means  of  the  French  to  over- 
come them,  without  annihilating  them. 

First,  however,  they  stopped  at  the  field-hospitals  in 
the  rear,  where  the  surgeons  were  examining  the  Ger- 
man prisoners.  The  medical  men  were  elated  over  the 
experiment,  declaring  that  the  prisoners — at  least  those 
who  had  not  been  trampled  by  the  horses  or  run  over 


THE    PASSPORT  339 

by  the  gun  carriages — were  apparently  none  the  worse 
for  their  experience  with  the  fumes  and  seemed  to  be 
resting  normally  under  the  influence  of  the  asphyxiat- 
ing chemicals. 

A  motor  drive  along  the  rear  line  of  the  French 
forces  brought  them  to  La  Sarre,  where  they  found  the 
French  infantry  busy  bringing  back  to  the  bases  thous- 
ands of  Germans  from  the  field,  after  a  thirty-minute 
engagement,  during  which  the  losses  on  the  French  side 
had  been  trifling. 

They  were  silently  watching  the  long  processions  of 
carts  with  their  unconscious  burdens,  miles  upon  miles 
of  them,  when  an  orderly  brought  a  message  to  General 
Boutelle,  one  of  the  observation  party. 

The  French  officer  raised  his  eye-brows  as  he  read 
the  dispatch. 

"Mille  tonneres!"  he  exclaimed.  Turning  to  War- 
den: "My  dear  sir,  the  totals  so  far  from  three  points 
of  attack  are  magnificent.  One  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  prisoners !  At  Lassigny  our  troops  have  now 
advanced  ten  miles,  leaving  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  the  enemy  on  the  ground,  who  are  being  gathered  up 
as  fast  as  possible.  Every  available  railroad  train  has 
been  ordered  to  the  front  to  bring  back  the  prisoners 
and  it  is  estimated  that,  before  night,  more  than  three 
hundred  thousand  of  the  enemy  will  be  counted  as  in 
our  hands.  Besides  this,  we  have  captured  many  guns 
and  ammunition  transports.  It  will  be  a  great  day  for 
France  and  Justice." 

It  was  not  all  to  be  so  favorable,  however.  While 
the  northwestern  front  was  breaking  into  the  German 
lines  with  apparent  success,  the  Germans  were  not  idle 
along  their  eastern  front  in  France,  with  the  result 
that  the  Prussians  penetrated  many  miles  into  the  vine- 


840  THE    PASSPORT 

yard  country  which  they  had,  on  a  previous  occasion, 
already  devastated,  and  seriously  threatened  the  French 
right  wing. 

Warden  learned  this  after  he  had  motored  back  to 
Paris  and  had  gone  directly  to  the  War  Office  where, 
he  knew,  complete  returns  from  all  the  salients  would 
be  received,  giving  the  net  result  of  the  operations  of 
the  day  along  the  entire  front. 

That  the  returns  already  received  had  proven  more 
than  satisfactory  was  evident  from  the  reception  that 
Warden  met  with  as  he  entered  the  office  of  the  Minis- 
ter of  War. 

"You  have  achieved  a  wonderful  success  with  your 
discovery,  Monsieur,"  declared  the  Minister,  enthusi- 
astically. "I  have  no  doubt  but  the  end  is  in  sight. 
Already  we  have  the  enemy  in  retreat  at  several  of  the 
principal  points  for  the  first  time  since  they  halted  at 
the  Marne,  in  the  autumn  of  last  year.  Their  strength 
is  broken.  The  allied  troops  are  advancing  along  the 
entire  front  with  the  exception  of  the  extreme  right 
wing,  where  the  enemy,  this  afternoon,  made  a  strong 
forward  movement  which  we  were,  for  the  time,  unable 
to  prevent.  However,  we  shall,  in  the  morning,  send  a 
strong  fleet  of  aeroplanes,  with  your  chemicals,  over 
this  German  position  and  we  expect  to  clear  the  enemy 
from  north-eastern  France  as  quickly  as  from  the  more 
northwesterly  portions." 

Warden  was  the  recipient  of  much  felicitation  from 
other  French  officials  who  dropped  in  at  the  War  Of- 
fice, but  his  personal  gratification  did  not  reach  its 
height  until,  half  an  hour  later,  a  message  came  from 
the  British  commander-in-chief  along  the  Belgian  lines 
in  Flanders,  to  the  effect  that  the  combined  British  and 
Belgian  forces  had  gained  much  ground  in  that  section 


THE    PASSPORT  341 

of  the  war  zone  and  had  been  able  to  take  nearly  one 
hundred  thousand  prisoners  through  the  use  of  tho 
chemical  bombs  of  Warden's  manufacture.  What 
pleased  Warden  most  about  this  message  was  that  the 
British  commander  desired  that  his  personal  congratu- 
lations be  extended  to  the  young  American. 

He  later  went  to  the  Waldorf,  now  a  hospital,  where 
Mary  was  doing  her  share  for  the  comfort  of  the 
wounded. 

"After  what  I  have  seen  to-day,  my  darling,"  he 
said,  when  they  were  alone  in  the  reception  room,  "the 
time  is  not  distant  when  there  will  be  no  more  need  for 
military  hospitals.  Nearly  three  hundred  thousand 
prisoners  to-day,  who,  except  for  the  fume  bombs, 
might  to-morrow  be  battling  under  bursting  shells  and 
be  buried  in  the  long  trenches.  It  has  worked  out  be- 
yond the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  the  War  Office — far 
beyond  even  my  own !  I  feel  to-night  as  if  I  have  finally 
been  able  to  accomplish  something  for  my  fellowmen 
and  I  am  happy,  happier  than  any  man  in  the  world 
possibly  can  be,  for  I  have  won  success  and  I  have  you 
to  share  the  happiness  of  it  with  me." 


CHAPTER   XXV 

FOLLOWING  the  tremendous  struggle  of  the  day  be- 
fore, both  sides  rested  on  their  arms  in  the  region  of 
Granardier  that  forenoon,  as  Warden  was  hastening 
from  Paris  on  the  same  train  that  carried  the  supply 
of  chemical  bombs  intended  for  the  aviation  corps  in 
their  aerial  assault  upon  the  enemy  between  the  Meurthe 
and  the  Moselle. 

These  particular  bombs  were  wrapped  around  with 
stones,  the  chemical  in  glass  containers,  so  that  the 
slightest  contusion  would  cause  the  bottles  to  break  and 
spread  their  fumes  among  the  enemy. 

All  the  day  before,  the  German  hosts  had  hammered 
at  their  opponents  with  bayonets  and  quick-firers.  And 
all  the  day  before  the  defenders  had  valiantly  checked 
the  rushing  tactics  of  the  Prussians  by  counter  charges 
that  transformed  the  great  plateau  into  a  gory,  slip- 
pery field. 

The  drizzle,  that  had  marked  the  opening  of  hostili- 
ties in  this  section  on  the  large  scale  planned  by  the 
Kaiser's  men,  had  stopped  and  the  day  broke  resplend- 
ent with  a  gorgeous  morning  sun  shedding  its  light  on 
a  terrain  that  might  well  have  been  the  scene  of  a  gi- 
gantic earth  upheaval.  To  some  extent  the  field  had 
been  cleared  of  the  dead  and  wounded,  under  a  truce, 
but  not  a  tree  remained  standing  and  a  pile  of  bricks 
here  and  there  suggested  all  that  had  once  been  a 
dwelling. 

From  a  prominence,  well  behind  the  French  positions, 


THE    PASSPORT  343 

Warden  awaited  the  first  movement  of  the  day.  It 
seemed  to  him  that,  surfeited  with  battle  on  the  day 
before,  both  sides  desired  rest  on  this  splendid  Spring 
morning  when  the  skies  reflected  so  little  of  War  and 
the  earth  reflected  so  little  of  Peace.  The  effectiveness 
of  the  chemical  assault  promised  to  be  greater  on  this 
front  than  on  any  of  the  others. 

Distributed  over  the  great  stretch  of  ground  in  solid 
formations,  the  enemy  seemed,  to  Warden,  particularly 
susceptible  to  an  assault  from  above  and  he  waited 
eagerly  for  the  first  hum  of  the  aerial  motors. 

It  finally  reached  him  from  the  south,  where  the 
French  aviation  field  was  located. 

Twenty  swift  machines,  biplanes,  rose  from  the 
ground  and  soon  reached  tremendous  altitudes. 

The  pop-pop  of  the  Prussian  anti-aeroplane  guns 
came  to  him  as  the  cork  explosions  from  a  child's 
wooden  air-pistol.  The  pop-pop  was  incessant  but  the 
height  of  the  French  flyers  was  such  that  none  of  the 
Prussian  shots  took  effect. 

Except  for  the  firing  at  the  airmen,  there  appeared 
to  be  no  activity  among  the  German  troops.  Not  a 
shot  was  fired  in  the  direction  of  the  French  positions 
and  no  movement  was  perceptible  either  among  the  in- 
fantry or  cavalry  of  the  enemy. 

Suddenly  two  huge  Taubes  rose  from  behind  the 
German  rear-guard. 

They,  too,  ascended  to  great  heights  and  Warden 
could  see  that,  having  got  the  range  of  the  foremost 
of  the  French  airmen,  the  Germans  in  their  Taubes 
opened  fire  with  the  expectation  of  driving  the  French 
flyers  off  in  flight. 

Like  the  birds  after  which  they  were  named,  the 
Taubes  circled  and  circled  over  the  Frenchmen,  but 


344  THE    PASSPORT 

the  two  biplanes  suddenly  described  a  semi-loop  and, 
opening  fire  on  the  Taubes,  appeared  to  have  reached 
their  marks. 

One  of  the  German  flyers  turned  turtle  and  came 
crashing  to  the  ground  while  the  other,  apparently 
badly  damaged,  volplaned  to  earth  and  to  safety  be- 
hind his  own  lines. 

At  about  he  same  time  the  French  flyers,  scattering 
over  the  full  area  occupied  by  the  Germans,  proceeded 
to  slowly  and  deliberately  drop  the  chemical  containers. 

The  Germans  were  taken  completely  by  surprise. 

Expecting  explosive  bombs  and  plainly  dodging  the 
missiles,  they  heard  nothing,  felt  nothing. 

Only  those  who  were  actually — and  accidentally — 
struck  by  the  stone  covered  glass  containers  received 
the  slightest  injury.  Probably  few  were  hurt  in  this 
way,  since  all,  presumably,  dodged  the  rain  of  "bombs." 

The  effect  on  the  encamped  Germans  was  remarka- 
ble, viewed  from  the  commanding  position  that  Warden 
occupied,  from  which  he  could  see  every  portion  of  the 
field. 

The  bright  morning  sun  shone  as  before  and  there 
had  been  no  change  in  the  positions  or  formations  of 
the  enemy's  forces.  But  everywhere  there  was  a  deathly 
quiet. 

An  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men,  at  least,  lay 
motionless  on  this  vast  plain. 

Not  a  living  thing  stirred. 

Men  and  horses  alike  lay  as  if  stricken  by  a  pesti- 
lence. 

The  French  flyers  went  further  then  where  the  army 
lay,  reconnoitering  over  the  enemy's  rear.  Then  they 
returned  and  reached  their  landings  back  of  the  French 


THE    PASSPORT  345 

forces,  where  officers  were  eagerly  waiting  for  the  re- 
ports of  the  airmen. 

A  bugle  sounded,  then  another  and  still  another,  tak- 
ing up  the  notes  that  sent  the  French  forward,  en 
masse,  with  numberless  carts  and  military  wagons  in 
their  rear. 

Gun  caissons  were  impressed  for  transport  duty,  plat- 
forms being  adjusted  so  that  each  might  take  care  of  a 
score  of  insensible  prisoners,  laid  side  by  side. 

It  was  an  "engagement"  with  the  enemy  without  a 
shot  being  fired  by  either  side  except  by  the  airmen. 
The  Frenchmen  might  as  well  have  left  their  equip- 
ment behind  them,  although  they  carried  it  as  a  matter 
of  course  and  as  a  matter  of  discipline. 

Red  Cross  wagons  by  the  score  hurried  over  the  huge 
field  to  gather  in  the  Germans  and  the  little  automo- 
biles that  had  proved  so  invaluable  an  aid  during  the 
progress  of  the  war  thus  far,  as  ambulances,  flitted  back 
and  forth  between  the  "field  of  glory"  and  the  French 
base  behind  the  hills  with  their  living  but  unconscious 
burdens. 

Warden  sat  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  fascinated. 

He  dearly  wished  that  Mary  could  have  seen  what 
he  was  seeing;  that  Sir  William  Purcell  could  have 
been  there,  since  Sir  William  had  doubted  his  ability 
to  do  what  he  said  he  could  do. 

Yes,  he  wished  that  the  President  of  his  own  beloved 
land  could  have  been  present,  for  he  felt  a  great  affec- 
tion for  that  man,  an  affection  that  had  grown  more 
intense  since  he  had  met  the  men  at  the  head  of  affairs 
in  Europe,  especially  since  he  had  met  the  German 
Kaiser  and  his  pompous  entourage. 

He  knew  that  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  end— 


346  THE    PASSPORT 

for  Germany  and  German  outrages.  That  Belgium 
would  come  into  her  own  again,  although  there  would 
be  little  left  except  charred  ground  and  inextinguisha- 
ble patriotism. 

Holland,  which  held  a  warm  corner  in  his  heart  for 
his  mother's  sake,  would  be  safe,  too.  In  fact,  all  Eu- 
rope would  be  safe  from  Prussianism  hereafter — unless 
a  Prussian  should  hit  upon  his  formula,  which  was  pos- 
sible but  not  probable. 

For  the  time  being,  at  least,  he  had  saved  the  day. 


The  preliminaries  to  a  cessation  of  hostilities  came 
swiftly  upon  the  heels  of  "The  Battle  of  the  Meurthe." 

The  curious  thing  about  that  "battle"  was  the  ad- 
vance of  the  French  troops  through  lanes  bordered  by 
inanimate  bodies  of  German  soldiers. 

Finding  it  impossible  to  gather  up  all  of  those  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  unconscious  men,  the  French 
stripped  them  of  their  equipment  and  arranged  them 
in  rows,  to  be  picked  up  at  leisure  by  the  Red  Cross 
wagons  or,  should  they  come  out  of  their  stupor  be- 
fore they  could  be  picked  up,  to  let  them  wander  about 
the  plain,  unarmed  and  with  a  strong  force  of  the 
French  between  them  and  their  own  lines. 

So  the  French  marched  on,  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  thousand  strong,  into  Alsace. 

Before  they  reached  the  second  line  of  Prussian 
troops  the  preliminaries  came — in  the  shape  of  flags 
of  truce. 

These,  in  turn,  were  followed  by  a  twenty-four-hour 
armistice  on  Germany's  western  and  eastern  fronts. 

^Wilhelm  II,  unable  to  bring  to  bear  a  weapon  upon 


THE    PASSPORT  847 

his  adversaries  more  effectual  than  the  Warden  bombs, 
changed  suddenly  from  a  thoughtless  militarist  to  a 
military  thinker.  Thought,  for  twenty-four  hours, 
was  his  only  refuge. 

In  the  face  of  this  new  chemical  strategy,  Wilhelm's 
Kriegsrath  was  as  impotent  a  factor  as  a  pontoon 
bridge  would  be  over  the  Falls  of  Niagara  and  no  one 
was  quicker  to  realize  this  than  the  War  Lord  himself. 

Driven  back  to  within  the  Belgian  border  from 
France,  into  Belgium  from  the  sea  to  a  point  where 
Antwerp  became  untenable  for  his  troops,  and  into  his 
own  domains  to  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Rhine  and  the 
northern  bank  of  the  Saar,  Wilhelm  saw  the  tide  turn- 
ing; especially  since  he  had  nothing  with  which  to  op- 
pose the  allied  armies  in  their  new  method  of  attack. 

The  new  method  was  all  the  more  terrible  to  Wilhelm 
since  it  was  humane. 

Had  his  antagonists  discovered  a  new  cruelty  in 
fighting,  Wilhelm  could,  without  trouble,  have  gone 
his  enemies  one  better,  for  horror  was  his  military 
watchword,  with  which  he  had  improved  upon  modern 
warfare  by  reverting  to  the  darker  deeds  of  by-gone 
centuries. 

Humanity  in  a  fight  between  nations  was  something 
new  to  him,  however,  and  he  could  not  find  a  way  to 
oppose  the  calm,  bloodless  arrangement  whereby  the  al- 
lies made  prisoners  of  his  Prussians  by  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  without  drawing  a  sabre  or  firing  a  shot. 

The  evacuation  of  Antwerp  was  a  natural  sequence 
to  the  combined  British  and  Belgian  drive  eastward 
following  the  first  use  in  the  Flanders  zone  of  the  chem- 
ical bombs. 

The  triumphant  entry  of  the  Belgian  troops  was  one 
of  the  most  striking  incidents  of  the  Belgian  campaign 


848  THE    PASSPORT 

and  marked  the  coming  of  King  Albert  into  his  own 
again. 

Warden  learned  of  this  the  day  after  "The  Battle  of 
the  Meurthe,"  while  he,  with  Mary  by  his  side,  sat 
watching  the  reviving  of  the  Parisian  spirit  from  a 
window  of  the  Ritz. 

In  his  hand  he  held  a  number  of  cablegrams  which 
had  arrived  during  the  day.  One  was  from  Rankin, 
with  a  word  of  congratulation.  Another,  somewhat 
more  expletive,  from  Lindsey,  extolling  the  American 
Richard  III  and  sending  him  the  greetings  and  well 
wishes  from  his  alumni.  Still  another  was  from  Bar- 
bour,  which  came  from  London,  in  which  the  Chicago 
capitalist  suggested  that  there  seemed  to  be  no  need  of 
his  waiting  for  Warden  in  the  British  capital  and  that 
he  would  meet  him,  as  appointed,  at  the  Laurel  Club, 
in  New  York.  There  was  also  a  message  from  his 
father,  praising  the  work  that  he  had  done  for  science. 

One  message,  which  had  not  come  by  wire,  was  de- 
livered at  the  Ritz  by  a  messenger  from  the  British 
Embassy.  It  stated  that  the  British  Ambassador  had 
been  directed  by  Sir  William  Purcell  to  extend  the 
heartiest  congratulations  of  the  British  government  to 
Mr.  Richard  Warden. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

COMPELLING  forces  within  the  Emperor  Wilhelm's 
own  domain  caused  the  world  to  slowly  begin  shaping 
itself  into  a  semblance  of  its  one-time  peaceful  condi- 
tion. 

The  Reichstag  declined  to  support  the  government 
in  its  attitude  of  defiance.  It  demanded  peace.  The 
newly  formed  Liberal  Party  in  Germany  threatened  a 
revolution  unless  the  peace  articles  were  speedily  ar- 
ranged. As  Herr  Mahler,  Socialist  Leader,  said  in  an 
impassioned  speech,  it  was  better  for  Germany  to  be 
bankrupt  for  a  hundred  years  than  to  be  wiped  out 
entirely. 

A  month  had  passed  since  the  fateful  "action"  on  the 
Meurthe,  and  the  painless,  unresisted  capture  of  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  Prussians. 

The  plenipotentiaries  of  the  belligerents  had  arrived 
in  America  to  begin  the  Peace  Conference. 

The  partial  recovery  of  Europe  from  the  paralysis 
of  war  had  already  had  its  effects  upon  the  rest  of  the 
globe. 

The  Peace  Conference,  although  it  held  the  atten- 
tion of  the  entire  world,  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a 
mere  formality. 

While  Germany  was  permitted  to  have  her  envoys 
and  to  present  her  "demands,"  Germany  could  not  very 
well  insist  upon  anything  that  her  late  enemies  might 
decline  to  allow  her. 


350  THE    PASSPORT 

Unofficially,  the  terms  of  settlement  were  pretty  well 
understood  beforehand,  although  it  was  stated  and  re- 
stated, in  Berlin,  that  he  Kaiser  would  "fight  to  the 
last  ditch" — in  the  Peace  Conference — against  the  en- 
forcement of  many  of  the  peace  stipulations. 

Belgium,  of  course,  was  to  be  free,  forever,  of  the 
danger  of  invasion  from  the  east.  This  danger  was  to 
be  eliminated  by  extending  the  territory  of  Luxemburg 
northward  to  the  Roer  River  and  eastward  to  the  Saar 
and  the  Kill. 

Important  concessions  to  Russia  on  the  Baltic,  in- 
cluding the  Gulf  of  Danzig,  the  port  of  the  same  name 
and  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Vistula,  were  among 
the  points  which  the  Kaiser  promised  to  contest  in  the 
proposed  settlement.  The  return  of  Alsace  and  Lor- 
raine to  France  was,  seemingly,  the  only  territorial 
concession  that  Berlin  did  not  object  to. 

Austria's  protests  against  dismemberment  were  not 
seriously  considered.  Servia,  Russia,  Italy  and  Rou- 
mania  hardly  left  the  Hapsburgs  sufficient  standing 
room  from  which  to  proclaim  their  indignation  at  the 
slicing  process. 

Without  colonies  anywhere — her  African  possessions 
being  divided  between  Great  Britain,  Belgium  and 
Portugal — a  firm  insistance  that  she  reduce  her  mili 
tary  strength  and  the  destruction  of  her  Heligoland 
base,  Germany  faced  an  overwhelming  indemnity,  which 
included  the  return  to  France,  of  the  1870  indemnity 
mulcted  from  that  Republic,  with  interest  from  that 
year. 

Commercial  restrictions  also  inflicted  their  more  sub- 
tle punishment  upon  the  luckless  Germans.  German 
steamship  lines,  for  instance,  would  not  be  permitted 
to  take  passengers  from  British,  Dutch,  French  or  Bel- 


THE    PASSPORT  351 

gian  ports  for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  so  as  to  give 
the  late  allies  an  opportunity  to  benefit  to  the  fullest 
extent  from  their  own  merchant  marines. 

As  if  to  complete  the  pill  of  bitterness,  Schleswig- 
Holstein  was  restored  to  Denmark,  from  whom  the 
Prussians  had  wrested  it  and,  with  it,  of  course,  went 
the  Kiel  Canal,  the  pet  achievement  of  Wilhelm. 

The  Turk,  driven  into  Asia  by  the  Bulgarians,  was 
no  longer  a  factor  in  the  affairs  of  Europe.  Russia 
was  to  have  the  Dardanelles,  while  Constantinople  re- 
verted to  the  Greeks,  from  whom  it  got  its  name.  Ser- 
via  became  a  sea-power  in  a  small  way  while  Austria 
proper,  completely  walled  in,  saw  her  flag  disappear 
from  the  seven  seas. 

Berlin  fumed,  expostulated,  threatened. 

The  fiat  had  gone  forth,  however,  and  Wilhelm  of 
Prussia  was  asked  whether  he  would  have  his  plenipo- 
tentiaries sign  or  not.  The  answer  was  to  be  imme- 
diate. 

On  the  day  that  this  ultimatum  was  sent,  the  French 
Liner  France  arrived  in  New  York.  It  marked  the  first 
resumption  of  regular  express  passenger  traffic  between 
the  Continent  of  Europe  and  the  Continent  of  America. 

The  occasion  was  to  prove  of  even  greater  import- 
ance than  the  arrival,  two  weeks  before,  of  the  peace 
envoys,  for  the  reason  that  Richard  Warden  was  a 
passenger  on  the  France. 

The  reporters,  who  went  down  the  bay  on  a  revenue 
cutter,  met  the  distinguished  young  American  who  had 
so  thoroughly  and  brilliantly  identified  himself  with 
the  vital  affairs  of  his  country,  and  it  was  from  them 
that  Warden  got  the  first  inkling  of  what  he  might  ex- 
pect at  the  hands  of  his  grateful  countrymen. 

Hardly  had  the  gang-plank  been  adjusted  between 


352  THE    PASSPORT 

steamer  and  pier  when  a  brusque,  heavy-set  man,  with 
bristling  mustaches  turned  up  in  the  manner  affected 
by  the  Kaiser,  edged  over  toward  where  Warden  and 
his  young  wife  were  standing,  awaiting  the  formalities 
of  the  customs  inspection. 

The  brusque  man  had  met  Mary  in  the  earlier  days, 
when  he  knew  her  only  as  the  daughter  of  a  faithful 
servant  of  the  Emperor,  Herr  Buhrwein. 

He  greeted  her  pleasantly  but  .his  business  was  evi- 
dently with  Warden  alone,  for  he  drew  the  latter  aside 
and  immediately  engaged  him  in  earnest  conversation. 

"I  am  the  German  Ambassador,"  he  said,  by  way  of 
introduction. 

"I  know  you  by  your  pictures,"  was  Warden's  in- 
different reply. 

"You  had  the  honor  of  meeting  His  Imperial  Ma- 
jesty, recently?" 

"I  could  not  very  well  help  myself  on  that  occa- 
sion," came  still  more  indifferently  from  Warden. 

"You  promised  His  Majesty  at  that  time  that  you 
would  use  your  influence,  backed  by  your  possession  of 
the  secret  formula,  toward  an  amicable  settlement  with 
Germany,  by  the  Powers." 

"The  allies  did  not  invade  Germany,"  replied  War- 
den. "I  think  I  kept  the  promise  I  made.  No  use 
was  made  of  my  asphyxiating  bombs  on  your  eastern 
front." 

"His  Majesty  directs  me  to  learn  from  you  whether, 
in  case  the  Imperial  Government  declines  to  accede  to 
the  unjust  and  excessive  demands  that  are  now  being 
imposed  upon  it,  it  may  depend  upon  your  assistance, 
at  any  figure  that  you  may  care  to  name,  should  hos- 
tilities be  resumed." 

"I  do  not  desire  to  have  anything  whatsoever  to  do 


THE    PASSPORT  353 

with  the  German  government,"  retorted  Warden,  net- 
tled at  the  assurance  of  the  Germans,  as  shown  by  this 
request. 

"But  the  Powers  are  taking  German  territory,"  pro- 
tested the  Ambassador,  whose  tone  was  now  almost 
pleading.  "The  Imperial  Government  would  not  ob- 
ject to  a  reasonable  indemnity  and  even  the  loss  of  the 
colonies,  but  the  taking  of  Schleswig-Holstein,  East 
Prussia  and  our  western  front  below  the  Roer  consti- 
tute an  outrage.  You  gave  your  word  to  His  Majesty 
that  you  would  insist  upon  reasonable  terms." 

"I  had  not  then  seen  actual  war,  my  dear  sir," 
Warden  replied,  somewhat  warmly.  "After  seeing  ac- 
tual war,  I  could  never  sympathize  with  those  who  be- 
gan it  without  reason." 

"You  are  the  only  man  who  can  influence  the  peace 
terms,"  urged  the  Ambassador. 

"That  is  a  different  story  from  that  which  the  Kai- 
ser told,"  returned  Warden,  with  a  smile,  "when  he  said 
I  was  a  young  fool  to  presume  to  dictate  terms  for 
keeping  the  asphyxiating  bombs  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Germans.  A  little  later  he  sarcastically  said  he  would 
recommend  me  as  dictator  of  peace.  Now  he  begs  me 
to  be  the  peace  dictator.  No  thank  you,  Mr.  Ambas- 
sador, I  am  out  of  Germany  and,  thank  God,  I  helped 
to  get  Germany  out  of  where  she  did  not  belong.  Your 
country  deliberately  got  itself  into  the  mess.  It  is  up 
to  you  people  to  get  out  of  it  the  best  way  you  can." 

The  interview  ended  there  and  the  Ambassador 
turned  on  his  heel  and  departed. 

It  had  not  taken  long,  but  it  made  history  and  it  also 
brought  about  the  signing  of  the  Peace  Treaty  by  the 
envoys  of  Wilhelm  without  further  ado. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

IN  the  library  of  the  Laurel  Club  a  group  of  men 
had  gathered.  In  their  center,  standing  with  his  face 
toward  the  soft  light  that  came  through  the  heavily 
curtained  windows,  stood  Richard  Warden. 

Barbour,  of  Chicago,  had  made  the  presentation  and 
the  young  American  held  in  his  hand  a  check  for  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  while  the  others  in  the  group 
were  examining,  with  considerable  interest,  a  card  upon 
which  was  inscribed  the  name  of  Wilhelm  II,  REX. 

"It  was  a  damn  fine  sporting  proposition !"  ex- 
claimed McRadden.  "I  knew,  from  the  first,  that  he 
would  do  the  trick !" 

"I  think  I  was  the  most  nervous  man  in  Europe  until 
I  learned  that  he  had  reached  France,"  said  Barbour. 
"I  traced  him,  through  our  Embassy  in  London,  from 
the  moment  he  left  England.  At  any  time  I  would  have 
been  glad  to  give  twice  the  stipulated  sum  to  call  off 
that  dare-devil  project." 

"As  a  matter  of  fact,"  laughed  Warden,  looking  at 
his  friend  and  sponsor,  "I  did  not  have  that  wager  in 
mind  at  all  when  I  went  into  Germany  the  way  I  did. 
Had  it  not  been  that  my  future  wife  had  been  trapped 
into  the  Kaiser's  country,  making  it  necessary  for  me 
to  follow  her  in  order  to  get  her  out  again,  I  would 
have  entered  the  German  lines  through  France.  Now 
do  you  still  consider  me  entitled  to  the  wager  money?" 

"In  defense  of  a  lady  ?    By  all  means !"  interrupted 


THE    PASSPORT  353 

McRadden,  while  Barbour,  Jordan,  Clarkson  and 
Quabb  nodded  their  emphatic  approval. 

"Did  you  come  here  on  a  German  steamer?"  laugh- 
ingly asked  Jordan.  "I  understand  they  are  running 
again." 

'Wo  sir,"  was  the  reply.  "We  arrived  to-day  on  the 
France  and  who,  do  you  think,  met  us  at  the  pier? 
Mind  you,  we  advised  no  one  of  our  coming.  The  re- 
porters who  boarded  the  ship  at  Quarantine  did  not 
know  we  were  aboard  until  some  passenger  told  them." 

"Don't  know,"  said  Clarkson,  speaking  for  the  rest. 
"Friend  of  yours?" 

"Hardly." 

"Well,  who  then?     Shoot!" 

"The  German  Ambassador !" 

"Well,  I'll  be  damned !"  declared  McRadden.  "The 
nerve  those  fellows  have !  First,  you  lick  them  and  then, 
I  suppose,  they  come  to  drive  a  bargain  with  you?" 

"Quite  right,"  assented  Warden. 

"Wanted  the  exclusive  right  to  manufacture  War- 
den's Cure  for  Militarism,  I  suppose?"  laughed  Quabb. 

"Right  again.  They  wanted  the  exclusive  right  not 
only  but  they  wanted  it  before  the  peace  protocols 
should  be  signed." 

"The  devils !  The  unscrupulous  devils  !"  McRadden 
fairly  leaped  from  his  chair.  "You  showed  proper 
scorn,  did  you  not,  boy?  Contempt,  too?  So  there 
would  not  be  any  mistaking  your  sentiments?" 

Warden  smiled.  "Leave  that  to  me,"  he  said. 
"There  is  little  sympathy  for  Germany  in  my  heart 
these  days.  One  thing,  however,  seems  plain  to  me. 
That  is,  that  even  to-day  the  German  Secret  Informa- 
tion Bureau  is  still  very  active  in  Paris.  How,  other- 


856  THE    PASSPORT 

wise,  would  the  German  Embassy  have  known  that  I 
was  on  the  France?" 

"Dick,"  interrupted  Barbour,  seriously,  is  that  for- 
mula of  yours  quite  safe?  I  mean,  is  there  no  danger 
that  some  German  will  hit  upon  the  ingredients?" 

"It  is  not  so  much  the  ingredients,"  Warden  replied, 
slowly.  He  looked  at  each  of  his  friends  in  turn,  as  if 
trying  to  determine  just  how  he  would  explain  the  mat- 
ter to  them.  "The  secret  lies  not  in  the  gas  itself  so 
much  as  in  the  problem,  which  I  have  solved,  of  making 
it  at  once  heavier  than  the  atmosphere,  instantaneously 
effective,  operative  for  four  hours  at  least  upon  those 
inhaling  its  slightest  quantity,  harmless  to  health  and 
cover  a  wide  area.  The  one  thing  that  would  nullify 
its  effectiveness  would  be  a  strong  gale  of  wind,  which 
would  probably  dissipate  it  before  it  could  overcome 
any  considerable  number  of  people.  My  formula  is 
beyond  analysis.  I  have  made  every  effort  to  analyze 
it  myself  without  success.  The  only  avenue  to  an  an- 
alysis is  blocked  by  an  absolutely  unpreventable  and 
dangerous  explosion  which  would  kill  the  experimenter. 
I  had  one  such  explosion  but,  expecting  it,  I  was  able 
to  save  myself.  So  I  am  fairly  sure  no  German  pro- 
fessor will  steal  my  secret.  You  can  imagine  what  Ger- 
many would  do  with  such  a  discovery  as  mine." 

"Now  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  the  formula?" 
Barbour  asked  the  question.  It  was  one  of  such  im- 
port that  it  held  the  attention  of  his  four  friends. 

"I  have  not  quite  made  up  my  mind  in  whose  hands 
I  shall  place  the  keeping  of  it,"  replied  Warden, 
thoughtfully.  "You  see,  it  would  not  do  to  entrust  it 
to  any  one  foreign  nation,  or  a  group  of  nations.  To 
give  it  to  all,  then  it  would  be  a  matter  only,  in  case 
of  trouble,  who  used  it  first.  I  had  in  mind  giving  it 


THE    PASSPORT  357 

in  the  custody  of  Holland.  Holland,  as  she  stands 
to-day,  is  to  be  trusted  with  it.  But,  supposing  that, 
at  some  future  time,  European  politics  and  affiliations 
and  alliances  should  change?  Supposing  that,  in  such 
an  event,  Holland  should  become  a  part  of  the  German 
Empire?  Such  a  thing  is  possible,  even  though  not 
probable.  There  is  a  certain  official  clique  in  Holland 
which  is  strongly  pro-German.  The  Royal  family  is 
related  to  the  reigning  house  of  Germany.  I  could  not 
take  the  chance  of  having  Germany  ultimately  in  pos- 
session of  the  secret.  France  may,  some  day,  be  quite 
a  different  country  from  what  she  is  to-day.  A  Napo- 
lean  might  spring  up.  No  one  can  tell.  I  should  not 
like  a  Napoleon  to  have  the  secret.  England,  too,  is 
out  of  the  question.  England  is  very  friendly  now.  I 
have  not  forgotten  the  Boer  War,  however,  which  much 
affected  my  dear  mother.  Switzerland  is  a  land  of 
peace — now.  Will  she  always  remain  a  land  of  peace? 
I  could  give  it  in  the  keeping  of  our  own  country,  you 
will  say.  So  I  would,  in  a  moment,  if  I  could  be  sure 
that  every  succeeding  President  would  make  as  judi- 
cious use  of  it  as  our  present  Chief  Executive.  But 
imagine  a  fire-eater  in  the  White  House ;  a  demagogue, 
a  dictator,  or  else  an  out-and-out  politician  who,  for 
political  reasons,  would  allow  the  secret  to  slip  out 
among  those  who,  for  instance,  desired  to  overcome 
workingmen  striking  for  their  rights.  No,  the  only 
thing  to  do  is  to  establish  a  trust  composed  of  a  num- 
ber of  persons  recognized  for  their  humanitarian  and 
just  views.  When  one  of  them  dies,  let  the  remainder 
elect  another  man  to  fill  the  vacancy,  who  is  equally  as 
humanitarian  and  just  as  themselves,  and  thus  continue 
the  trust  in  perpetuity.  It  would,  at  least,  safeguard 
the  secret  and  it  could  be  used  in  foreign  as  well  as  do- 


358  THE    PASSPORT 

mestic  instances,  always  on  the  side  of  humanity  and 
justice.  The  formula  itself  would  never  be  made  pub- 
lic. If  it  were  decided  to  allow  some  power  to  have  the 
benefit  of  it,  the  liquid  could  be  easily  and  readily  pre- 
pared in  a  few  hours,  without  trouble  or  fuss,  by  one 
of  the  trustees  who  would  merely  cause  certain  ingre- 
dients to  be  united,  in  certain  quantities,  by  an  assist- 
ant, according  to  the  formula,  without  the  assistant 
becoming  one  whit  the  wiser  as  to  the  quantities  used, 
if  my  directions  are  followed.  It  could  then  be  sent 
across  the  ocean  in  bottles,  with  directions  as  to  how 
to  inject  it  in  shells  or  bombs.  No  one  could  ever 
analyze  it,  that  is  sure." 

The  five  capitalists  were  alive  with  enthusiasm  over 
Warden's  description  and  his  argument.  They  agreed 
with  him  as  to  the  best  plan  for  safeguarding  the  secret 
and  each  of  the  five  men  at  once  pledged  himself  for  a 
substantial  sum  as  a  fund  for  the  establishment  of  the 
trusteeship  and  its  maintenance,  although  not,  of 
course,  as  remuneration  for  the  trustees. 

"One  American  office-holder  almost  precipitated  a 
crisis,  by  resigning  his  important  post,  through  his 
chase  after  the  Noble  Peace  Prize,"  commented  Clark- 
son.  "You  will  not  have  to  chase  it,  young  man.  There 
is  no  question  but  the  Noble  Prize  goes  to  you,  without 
another  aspirant  in  the  running." 

"Undoubtedly,"  assented  Quabb.  "And  it  will  mean 
disarmament,  too,  within  a  very  short  time." 

"With  no  more  steel  for  battleships,  shells,  fortifica- 
tions and  the  like,  where  will  you  be,  Charlie?"  laughed 
Barbour,  turning  to  Quabb. 

"We  shall  be  making  rails,  plenty  of  them,  to  move 
the  crops  and  manufactures  of  Europe,  instead  of  her 
troops  and  war  supplies,"  replied  the  Steel  King.  "I 


THE    PASSPORT  359 

must  prefer  making  rails  to  battleships  or  armored 
motorcars." 

"Changing  the  conversation,  what  are  the  plans 
now,  Dick?"  Barbour  asked. 

"My  wife  and  I  are  going  to  the  Berkshires  as  soon 
as  we  can,  perhaps  this  afternoon,  but  in  any  event  to- 
night. Later,  I  am  going  to  have  quite  a  task  getting 
rid  of  the  pay  that  I  am  to  receive  from  the  Allies.  I 
have  a  scheme  whereby  I  hope  to  make  the  most  people 
happy  out  of  it." 

"But  you're  not  going  to  leave  town  to-night,  I  tell 
you  that,"  said  Barbour. 

"Why  not?" 

"Because,  my  boy,"  replied  the  Chicagoan,  slowly, 
"you  will  have  to  submit  gracefully  to  the  wishes  of 
your  fellow  townspeople,  as  they  would  say  in  the 
Berkshires.  You  are  and  you  are  not  a  private  citizen. 
You  have  put  yourself  in  the  limelight  politically  and 
now  you  will  have  to  remain  there  socially  for  awhile. 
There  is  going  to  be  a  Peace  Pageant  to-night  in  New- 
York.  It  has  been  arranged  for  some  weeks  and  was 
scheduled  for  the  evening  of  the  day  upon  which  you 
returned  to  the  United  States.  Hence,  this  is  the 
evening !" 

"But  that  is  absurd — to  make  so  much  fuss  about 
the  thing,"  protested  Warden. 

"Absurd  to  honor  the  man  who  practically  saved  his 
country  from  a  disastrous  war?  Don't  forget  that  you 
actually  did  that!  It  is  pretty  well  known  in  this 
country  that  you  tackled  the  Kaiser  single-handed,  in 
the  dead  of  night,  and  caused  him  to  withdraw  the  de- 
mands he  made  upon  the  United  States.  The  papers 
were  full  of  it — and  about  you.  What  is  there  absurd 
about  honoring  a  man,  especially  a  young  man,  not 


360  THE    PASSPORT 

versed  in  diplomacy  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  wKo 
could  accomplish  what  you  did?  No,  my  boy,  you  are 
in  for  a  reception  to-night  and  it  is  going  to  be  the 
biggest  reception  ever  given  anybody  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  Accept  the  honor  gracefully.  It  is  the 
American  substitute  for  the  Iron  Cross.  Wear  a  white 
boutonniere,  symbolical  of  Peace.  It  is  the  finest  deco- 
ration that  you  can  wear." 


It  seemed  as  if  the  entire  city  had  turned  out  to  do 
Richard  Warden  honor.  The  route  of  the  procession 
held  densely  packed  throngs  on  both  sides  of  the  thor- 
oughfares. 

First,  there  came  the  United  States  regulars  from 
the  Department  of  the  East;  then  the  sturdy  jackies 
from  the  warships  that  were  lying  strung  out  in  the 
Hudson,  forming  the  naval  demonstration  arranged 
for  the  occasion  by  Executive  prder. 

Following  the  State  Militia  regiments  came  the  car- 
riage of  the  Secretary  of  War,  acting  as  the  Presi- 
'dent's  personal  representative  and  by  the  Secretary's 
side  sat  Richard  Warden.  A  guard  of  honor  from 
Governor's  Island  formed  the  mounted  escort  to  this 
carriage.  In  other  carriages  came  Rankin,  Leighton 
and  several  others  of  Rankin's  subordinates  in  the  Se- 
cret Service. 

Another  carriage  held  five  men — the  little  million- 
aires' club  of  the  Autania  and  the  Laurel. 

There  were  marching  organizations  of  all  the  city's 
hyphenated  population — all  except  the  German  organ- 
izations. 

There  were  no  German  sharpshooters'  clubs  in  this 
parade ! 


THE   PASSPORT  861 

From  the  moment  that  Warden  entered  the  carriage 
with  the  Secretary  of  War,  at  the  Laurel  Club,  until 
he  left  it  at  the  Ansonia,  where  the  reception  was  to 
take  place,  he  was  the  recipient  of  unrestrained  ap- 
plause from  the  thousands  who  lined  the  streets.  At 
the  hotel  he  reviewed  the  pageant  from  a  balcony. 

As  he  stood  there  he  suddenly  thought  of  that  night 
when  he  stood  at  the  curb,  watching  the  munici- 
pal parade  go  by  and  dreaming  of  returning  heroes. 

Now,  he  had  returned  as  a  conqueror,  a  conqueror 
as  he  had  wished  a  conqueror  should  be — a  conqueror 
who  had  saved  life  and  had  not  taken  it ! 

For  a  brief  interval,  between  the  reviewing  and  the 
reception,  Warden  went  to  his  old  apartment,  which 
he  now  occupied  with  his  wife. 

Together  they  stood  looking  out  over  the  river, 
watching  the  twinkling  lights  on  the  shores  opposite. 
The  little  lights  that  had  been  his  inspiration. 

There  were  other  lights  in  the  river  this  night,  the 
lights  of  huge  battle-ships,  real  war  material,  to  lend 
color  to  the  dreams  he  once  had  had.  But  it  was  a 
peaceful  fleet,  representative  of  the  highest  ideals,  of 
honor  and  good-will  to  mankind. 

He  had  fulfilled  his  dream. 

He  had  conquered,  but  there  was  no  man's  blood  on 
his  conscience. 

He  had  been  the  giant,  scattering  and  subduing  the 
invaders  and  now  he  was  being  honored,  vastly  more 
so  than  if  he  had  returned  a  conqueror  with  the  drip- 
ping sword  dangling  at  his  side. 

He  led  Mary  away  from  the  window. 

"It  has  been  done,"  he  said,  as  he  took  her  in  his 
arms. 


362  THE    PASSPORT 

They  stood,  silently,  in  that  embrace  which  only  two 
perfectly  attuned  souls  can  understand. 

"My  wonderful  hero  !"  she  whispered. 

******* 

As  they  came  downstairs  to  join  the  guests  in  the 
great  ball-room,  an  envelope  was  handed  to  Warden. 
It  was  postmarked  Belgium,  from  the  little  town  of 
Menton,  and  was  addressed  simply:  "Monsieur  Rich- 
ard Warden,  New  York,  Etats  Unis  d'Amerique."  The 
sheet  of  paper  inside  contained  but  few  words  but  they 
breathed  a  blessing  on  the  head  of  the  man  who  saved 
the  writer  «.nd  her  little  grandson  and  the  entire  vil- 
lage, from  the  brutal  Uhlans. 

It  was  signed  "Angelic  Lambin." 

At  the  entrance  to  the  ballroom  a  man,  with  a 
haunted  look  upon  his  face,  stopped  Warden. 

"Please — one  moment — I — beg,"  faltered  the  fellow. 
"I  am  Hans  Schulz,  the  waiter,  who — tried — to — blow 
— you — up — by — putting — a  —  bomb  — in  —  your  — 
trunk.  You  .  .  .  remember  ?  Ah  yes !  You  do — 
as  Warden  stepped  back  in  surprise — "Don't  fear  .  . 
I  am  your  slave  henceforth  .  .  .  You  saved  my  mother 
and  sisters  at  Cleve.  You  remember!  Oh,  I  have  suf- 
fered!" 

And  Hans  Schultz  disappeared  in  the  crowded  cor- 
ridor, weeping. 

"Is  it  not  just  wonderful  to  be  a  hero?"  whispered 
Mary,  as  they  entered  the  splendidly  decorated  ball- 
room. 

"It  is  a  wonderful  feeling  to  know  that  you  have  done 
something  worth  while  for  your  country  and  for  your 
fellowmen — and  women,"  Warden  whispered  back. 

The  Brobdingnaigan  had  done  his  work. 

FINIS. 


A     000  111  192     1 


